Whatcom sees 12 new COVID-19 cases Friday; Humane Society closed for cleaning after illness
Twelve more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported Friday, Nov. 6, but no new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,682 confirmed cases and 51 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5. That means that 3.0% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The 12 new cases reported Friday mark the third straight day Whatcom’s case numbers have grown by double digits, as 18 were reported Wednesday and 15 on Thursday.
The state Department of Health data also shows Whatcom County has had 112 hospitalizations (an increase of one from Thursday) and 84,683 tests have been performed (an increase of 1,063 from what was reported Thursday).
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard reported 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 46.6.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 256.0. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 230.8.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.1%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 94.5% 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 2.0% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating five patients for COVID-19, an increase of one from Thursday.
The Lummi Nation reported Thursday evening that it has seen another positive test — the 86th case in the Lummi community during the pandemic. Since Oct. 18, the Lummi Tribal Health Center has reported an average of approximately one new COVID-19 case per day. As of Thursday, the Lummi health department had conducted 2,352 tests and had 17 active cases, but none of the cases in the Lummi community had resulted in death and only three had resulted in hospitalization.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 7,171 students, six of whom had positive tests.
Humane Society worker tests positive
A Whatcom Humane Society employee at the Division Street shelter tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Facebook post by the society, and the shelter has been closed to all non-essential services through Saturday, Nov. 7, as a result.
The employee last was at the shelter on Oct. 30 and does not work in close contact with the public, the post states.
Except for lost and found services, animal redemptions, animal control services, pet food back services, previously scheduled appointments, animal pick up and other emergencies, the shelter was closed through Saturday to allow for disinfection of all areas and permit staff and volunteers who may have been exposed time to get tested.
“We will continue to limit the number of people inside our facility. We ask that socially distancing guidelines are followed and masks/face coverings are required to enter the facility,” the post read.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 9.7 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 235,988 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 49.1 million reported cases and 1.24 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Friday afternoon:
▪ 114,241 reported cases, an increase of 1,691 from data on Thursday.
▪ 8,791 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of seven from data Thursday.
▪ 2,568,257 total tests, an increase of 27,183 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,439 deaths related to COVID-19, eight more than were reported Thursday, meaning that 2.1% 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.
