Whatcom County sees seven new COVID-19 cases, according to state Wednesday
Seven more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported Wednesday, Oct. 14, but no new deaths were reported.
The county now has seen 1,481 confirmed cases and 49 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. That means that 3.3% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state Department of Health data also shows Whatcom County has had 103 hospitalizations (unchanged from Tuesday) and 71,300 tests have been performed (an increase of 800 from Tuesday).
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard updated Wednesday, for data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, showed that Whatcom County is making three of four Phase 2 metrics goals.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 54.2.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 228.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 198.1.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.4%.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 71.8% reported by the state.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 10% of all licensed hospital beds being occupied by COVID-19 patients with 0.8% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday that it was treating two patients for COVID-19, unchanged from Tuesday.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 3,820 students, four of whom had positive tests.
Statewide situation report
The Washington State Department of Health released its latest statewide situation report Wednesday, stating that COVID transmission is increasing in Western Washington.
The reproductive number was 1.12 in western parts of the state, according to a Department of Health release, meaning each new COVID case is likely to infect 1.12 people and the disease will continue to grow.
The eastern side of the state checked in a 0.94, meaning the disease is on the decline on that side of the state.
The Department of Health also said that COVID transmission in western Washington is increasing across all age groups and broad geographic areas, suggesting the spread is not being driven by any specific type of activity or setting.
Larger and smaller counties also are seeing increases, the report states, though some counties that saw increases in September, such as Whatcom, are starting to flatten out.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Wednesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 7.9 million reported cases, the most of any nations, and 216,553 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 38.35 million reported cases and 1.08 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Wednesday afternoon:
▪ 95,509 reported cases, an increase of 734 from data on Tuesday.
▪ 7,883 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of nine from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,146,509 total tests, an increase of 22,601 from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,221 deaths related to COVID-19 were reported, an increase of 10 from data Tuesday. That means that 2.3% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Phased reopening
Gov. Inslee on Tuesday, Oct. 13, moved all counties in modified Phase 1 to Phase 2, but his July 28 extension of an indefinite pause on counties moving ahead in the Safe Start Washington plan remains in place. That came a week after Inslee loosened some restrictions for activities and businesses.
That means 22 counties — including Whatcom — are in Phase 2 and 17 counties are in Phase 3.
