Whatcom surge sees record 46 COVID cases Friday; WWU opts out of GNAC basketball season
Whatcom County set a new record for the highest number of new COVID-19 cases reported in a single day Friday, Nov. 13, as the Washington State Department of Health data showed an additional 46 residents had tested positive.
One positive thing to come out of Friday’s health department data release is that Whatcom County’s death total was reduced by one, one day after it had reportedly climbed to 53.
The 46 new cases come one day after 39 were reported Thursday — but that total represented two days, after no data was released Wednesday in observance of Veterans Day. Whatcom’s previous single-day record for new cases reported was 33 on June 24.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,822 confirmed cases and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. That means that 2.9% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
No additional information about why the death total was reduced by one was provided, but death totals have often been reconciled throughout the eight months of the pandemic.
Friday marked the 10th day the county has seen a double-digit increase in new cases in the past two weeks.
Whatcom County has averaged 20.0 new cases per day over the past week, which is also a record, surpassing the previous weekly high of 16.3 on June 26. The Whatcom County Health Department has previously stated that the county needs to average no more than four new cases per day to reach the state standard of 25 new cases per 100,000 residents in a two-week period to advance phases in the state’s now-suspended reopening plan.
Other Whatcom numbers
The state Department of Health data Friday shows Whatcom County has had 118 hospitalizations (an increase of one from Thursday) and 89,292 tests have been performed (an increase of 442 from what was reported Thursday).
St. Joseph hospital, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating five patients for COVID-19, up two from Thursday.
PeaceHealth, which operates the hospital, told The Bellingham Herald Friday that it is ready to adapt if a surge in hospitalizations is seen in the area.
“We have a plan to increase capacity to treat COVID-19 positive patients and to quickly transform portions of the hospital as necessary,” PeaceHealth Northwest Network Chief Executive Charles Prosper said in a statement. “We are monitoring COVID and regular healthcare needs and adjusting day-by-day. We have planned for this challenge knowing the winter season would be very busy. “
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 8,207 students, eight of whom had positive tests.
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 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 50.6.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 267.6. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 251.6.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.7%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 92.5% 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.
Inslee issues travel advisory
Gov. Jay Inslee issued a travel advisory for Washington state on Friday, recommending Washington state residents self-quarantine for 14 days when they return home after traveling out of the state. The governors of Oregon and California joined Inslee in making similar advisories for their states.
“COVID-19 cases have doubled in Washington over the past two weeks,” Inslee said in a release about the advisory. “This puts our state in as dangerous a position today as we were in March. Limiting and reducing travel is one way to reduce further spread of the disease. I am happy to partner with California and Oregon in this effort to help protect lives up and down the West Coast.”
The three states are also advising travelers to limit interactions within their immediate households during their self-quarantine and defined essential as travel for work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.
Long-term care facilities
As of Monday, Nov. 9, 7% of the state’s total COVID-19 cases (8,787 cases) and 55% of the state’s COVID-related deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities, according to the latest report released Tuesday. Cases including residents and staff at facilities and do not mean they were exposed while at the facility, the report stated.
Graphs associated with the report show the number of cases and related deaths tied to long-term care facilities is experiencing a third peak in October and early November, but so far that peak is much smaller than the initial peak in late March and April and slightly smaller than the July and August rise.
Whatcom County has had 40 related deaths and 226 cases in long-term care facilities, which represent 78.4% of the county’s deaths and 13.2% of its cases as of Nov. 9. From the last report, which had data through Oct. 26, and Nov. 9, Whatcom long-term care facilities saw no deaths and only two new cases.
Whatcom County long-term care facilities have seen the sixth-most deaths in the state and the seventh-most cases, according to the report.
WWU basketball opts out
Western Washington University announced in a news release Friday that it was one of six Great Northwest Athletic Conference schools that has elected not to play conference men’s or women’s basketball games during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This was a very difficult decision, but one that centered around health and safety of our student-athletes and our WWU campus community,” WWU President Sabah Randhawa said in the release. “The pandemic has created a lot of challenges for our campus community, and we have worked together to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
“I understand the disappointment our student-athletes and coaches must be feeling as a result of the opt-out decision. We are missing our student-athletes in action, the energy, work ethic, teamwork, and community that athletic competition brings to our university.”
Joining WWU in the move were Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, Montana State Billings, Simon Fraser and Western Oregon, leaving Alaska Fairbanks, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific to compete in the upcoming GNAC season.
Western and the other five schools will still be allowed to hold athletic activities within NCAA regulations and could even play non-conference games within applicable health guidelines, the release stated, but those competitions can not begin before Jan. 7.
The GNAC Management Council and the CEO Board, of which Randhawa is a member, will still explore the feasibility of the conference’s spring and suspended fall seasons, the release said.
“This was a very tough decision that our university was faced with, but one that came down to the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, campus community, and the greater Bellingham community,” WWU Athletic Director Steve Card said in the release. “These are unprecedented times, with many challenges, and while it is tough to share this information today, we understand the severity of the ongoing situation.”
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 10.7 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 244,207 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 63.8 million reported cases and 1.3 million deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Friday afternoon:
▪ 125,498 reported cases, an increase of 2,142 from data on Thursday.
▪ 9,266 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 88 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,722,087 total tests, an increase of 27,917 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,519 deaths related to COVID-19, 12 more than were reported Thursday, meaning that 2.0% 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 13, 2020 at 3:56 PM.
