Whatcom sees 8 new COVID cases Friday, as Lummi reports new surge in positive tests
Eight more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported Friday, Oct. 30, but there were no more deaths related to the respiratory illness.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,596 confirmed cases and 50 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. That means that 3.1% 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 109 hospitalizations (a decrease of two) and 79,918 tests have been performed (an increase of of 590 from what was reported Thursday).
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, most recently updated Friday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, showed that Whatcom County is making two 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 53.3.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 259.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 224.7.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.5%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 87.5% 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 1.6% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating four patients for COVID-19, a decrease of of one from Thursday.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 6,345 students, five of whom had positive tests.
Lummi seeing surge
The Lummi Tribal Health Center announced Friday afternoon via a Facebook post that six more community members have tested positive for COVID-19.
Those six, coupled with three others reported earlier this week, bring the total number of Lummi community members who have been infected during the pandemic to 78. Fourteen cases have been reported during October, so far.
“Lummi Nation PLEASE follow all safety protocols and SHELTER IN PLACE,” a Lummi Communications Facebook post read, referring to the Lummi Indian Business Council extending its Shelter in Place order through the end of November.
Before the six cases Friday, Lummi reported it had three active cases as of Thursday. During the pandemic, the Lummi health department has conducted 2,185 tests, and no Lummi community member has died from COVID.
The Lummi Nation announced Thursday that it is in the initial stages of exploring whether it should participate in the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trial.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 9.0 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 229,511 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 45.4 million reported cases and 1.18 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Friday afternoon:
▪ 106,573 reported cases, an increase of 1,016 from data on Thursday.
▪ 8,522 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 55 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,426,385 total tests, an increase of 21,033 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,366 deaths related to COVID-19, seven more than were reported Thursday, meaning that 2.2% 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.
