Whatcom sees 22 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death and big infection rate growth in 3 regions
Another Whatcom County resident’s death has been linked to COVID-19, and 22 new cases were reported Tuesday, Nov. 10, by the Washington State Department of Health.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,737 confirmed cases and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9. That means that 3.0% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Tuesday marked the eighth day the county has seen a double-digit increase in new cases in the past 11 days.
Whatcom County has averaged 14.3 new cases per day over the past week. That is the county’s highest weekly average since it averaged 14.4 on June 30, which was one day after that mark peaked at 16.6 on June 29.
The state Department of Health data Tuesday shows Whatcom County has had 116 hospitalizations (an increase of one from Monday) and 87,086 tests have been performed (an increase of 1,055 from what was reported Monday).
The state Department of Health said in its online briefing Tuesday that it would not update data on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans’ Day.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Tuesday that it was treating five patients for COVID-19, a decrease of one from Monday.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center on Monday evening reported an 87th community member has tested positive for coronavirus and it is currently monitoring 12 active cases. It marked the ninth confirmed case within the Lummi community during November and the 23rd since Oct. 1. None of the 23 newest cases have resulted in hospitalization. As of Monday, the Lummi health center reported it has performed 2,381 tests during the pandemic and the community has had three hospitalizations and no deaths.
“We must continue to shelter in place, protect our families, our community, follow all safety protocols, wear masks, social distance and limit interactions in your home to 10 or less individuals,” a post to the Lummi Communication Facebook page Monday read. “Rather than visiting your family and loved ones, call them or Facetime them. Protect each other.”
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard reported Tuesday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday showed that Whatcom County is making two of four key 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 47.9.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 263.7. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 241.1.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.3%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 96.1% 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.
Whatcom COVID location
Three Whatcom County school district regions saw their infection rates increase significantly last week, according to the latest location data published by the Whatcom County Health Department Tuesday, while only one of the seven saw it drop.
The health department releases data on the location of COVID-19 positive tests by school district and, published new data on its website the number of total cases and infection rates for the past two weeks through Nov. 7.
Here is what the latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
Bellingham: Up 8.5% (59 cases) since Nov. 3 to 752 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 44 to 64.
Blaine: Up 4.9% (five cases) since Nov. 3 to 107 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 23 to 40.
Ferndale: Up 8.0% (27 cases) since Nov. 3 to 366 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 99 to 135 — the highest rate any district has seen since Ferndale had infection rates of 147 on July 27 and 140 on Aug. 3.
Lynden: Up 5.2% (11 cases) since Nov. 3 to 224 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 35 to 49.
Meridian: Up 1.8% (two cases) since Nov. 3 to 116 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 37 to nine.
Mount Baker: Up 7.8% (five cases) since Nov. 3 to 69 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 19 to 44.
Nooksack Valley: Up 5.0% (five cases) since Nov. 3 to 105 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 54 to 63.
Race and ethnicity data
The percentage of Whatcom County COVID-19 cases impacting people identifying as Hispanic dropped for the fifth straight week, according to the latest data released by the Whatcom County Health Department Tuesday.
Here is what the latest data through Nov. 10 shows:
▪ White, non-Hispanic: 58.2% of cases, up from 58.1% on Nov. 3 (represents 78.7% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ Hispanic: 27.9% of cases, down from 28.4% on Nov. 3 (represents 9.5% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ American Indian/Alaska Native, non-Hispanic: 5.6% of cases, up from 5.4% on Nov. 3 (represents 2.5% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ Multiracial, non-Hispanic: 2.5% of cases, unchanged on Nov. 3 (represents 3.6% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ Asian, non-Hispanic: 2.1% of cases, down from 2.2% on Nov. 3 (represents 4.3% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ Other race, non-Hispanic: 2.1% of cases, up from 2.0% on Nov. 3 (represents 0.0% of Whatcom’s total population).
▪ Black, non-Hispanic: 1.2% of cases, up from 1.1% on Nov. 3 (represents 1.0% of Whatcom’s total population.
▪ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic: Suppressed (represents 0.3% of Whatcom’s total population).
Approximately 16% of all cases do not have a known race or ethnicity.
Bellingham urges diligence
Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood echoed Whatcom County health officials’ recent concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases during Monday’s city council meeting, urging residents to avoid large holiday gatherings and continue social distancing, wearing masks in public and practicing good hand hygiene.
Fleetwood promised a full update on the city’s pandemic response at the council’s Nov. 23 meeting.
Meanwhile, Councilwoman Hannah Stone admonished city workers who she has seen ignoring the mask directive, including road crews, police officers and firefighters.
“Things like that are happening consistently,” Stone said.
— Robert Mittendorf, rmittendorf@bhamherald.com
Thanksgiving tradition scratched
A longtime Bellingham Thanksgiving tradition won’t be happening this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diane Brainard announced that the Old Town Cafe in downtown Bellingham will not be doing its annual free Thanksgiving dinner event this year because of the coronavirus restrictions. She said she couldn’t figure out a way to pull off an event that involved so many volunteers in the restaurant’s small kitchen during this pandemic.
The free Thanksgiving dinner at Old Town Cafe has happened for 47 years, according to The Bellingham Herald archives. Brainard, who has owned the cafe since 1995, said they plan to continue the tradition next year.
— Dave Gallagher, dgallagher@bhamherald.com
WWU holiday testing
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 7,669 students, six of whom had positive tests.
Western announced in a campus advisory Tuesday that it will provide free COVID testing to WWU students in the Bellingham area before the Thanksgiving break. The voluntary testing will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 16-19 and 23-24 at Fraser Hall, and students must make an appointment on the MyWesternHealth patient portal.
Following Thanksgiving, all fall quarter classes will move to remote learning for the remainder of the term, though campus residence halls and apartments will remain open through the quarter and during the winter break.
Following winter break, all students living or attending class on campus during winter quarter 2021, which begins Jan. 5, and those who plan to be on campus for other reasons, such as athletics or employment, must have a COVID test conducted on campus. Test results obtained outside Western’s test program will not be accepted, according to the advisory.
The school also encouraged all students to continue following public health guidelines to reduce the risk of infection among family, friends and the community.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Tuesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 10.2 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 239,374 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 51.2 million reported cases and 1.26 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Tuesday afternoon:
▪ 120,011 reported cases, an increase of 1,441 from data on Monday.
▪ 9,092 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 61 from data Monday.
▪ 2,644,425 total tests, an increase of 16,910 from data Monday.
▪ 2,482 deaths related to COVID-19, 22 more than were reported Monday, 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 10, 2020 at 3:31 PM.
