Whatcom sees 12 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, a 68% increase over the last 7 days

Twelve more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported Saturday, Nov. 7. The state doe not report deaths on the weekend.

Whatcom County now has seen 1,694 confirmed cases and 51 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6. 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 Saturday mark the fourth straight day Whatcom’s case numbers have grown by double digits, as 18 were reported Wednesday, 15 on Thursday and 12 on Friday.

In the last seven days Whatcom County has reported 84 cases, an increase of 68% over the previous seven days, when 50 cases were reported.

The state Department of Health data also shows Whatcom County has had 112 hospitalizations (no change from Friday) and 84,976 tests have been performed (an increase of 293 from what was reported Friday).

The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard last reported Friday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. It 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 Saturday that it was treating five patients for COVID-19, no change from Friday.

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.

Skagit sees significant increases

COVID-19 cases in Skagit County increased significantly this week, putting the county into the state’s high-risk category. Since Sunday, 105 new cases of the virus have been reported, according to data available on the county website.

“In two days, we’re seeing more than we’d seen in two weeks before,” said county Health Officer Howard Leibrand. “This is not just some minor blip.” When cases spike like this, he said it dramatically increases the chances that people will encounter others who are contagious, pushing the number of new cases even higher.

“Think of a semi (truck) coming down the pass and the brakes fail,” Leibrand said. “As soon as it gets out of hand, you don’t get it back.”

The best way to stay healthy is to limit exposure to others, he said. Guidelines indicate people should see no more than five people who live outside their household per week.

Several of these recent cases are from two Halloween parties, and Public Health is looking into more possible cases stemming from these events, Leibrand said.

The rise in cases has in the past two days prompted three Skagit County public school districts to pull back on in-person education.

Leibrand said the decisions made by the school districts are wise, and line up with his advice.

“The numbers are rising at a rate that makes school risky,” he said.

— The Skagit Valley Herald via Tribune News Service

Numbers elsewhere

COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Saturday afternoon:

▪ The U.S. has more than 9.8 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 236,856 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 49.6 million reported cases and 1.24 million deaths.

In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Saturday afternoon:

▪ 116,011 reported cases, an increase of 1,770 from data on Friday.

▪ 8,795 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of four from data Friday.

▪ 2,592,766 total tests, an increase of 24,509 from data Friday.

▪ Deaths are not reported on the weekend, but 2,439 deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Friday, 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.

This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 3:42 PM.