Whatcom’s COVID case count decreased by 2 Wednesday, as WWU suspends in-person classes
Whatcom County’s total number of COVID-19 cases decreased by two in the Washington State Department of Health’s latest reported on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and no new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has seen 1,940 confirmed cases and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17. That means that 2.7% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
No notes were included on the state’s dashboard about the reason for Wednesday’s decrease.
The decrease marked the first day Whatcom County has seen fewer than 20 new cases reported since no data was reported on Veteran’s Day, including on Sunday, when a record high 48 new cases were reported.
With 330 new cases reported the past 18 days, the county already has seen more positive tests in November than in any other month during the pandemic — the previous high being 272 in July.
The state Department of Health data Wednesday also shows Whatcom County has had 120 hospitalizations (an increase of one from Tuesday) and 92,626 tests have been performed (an increase of 543 from what was reported Tuesday).
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday that it was treating eight patients for COVID-19, an increase of two from Tuesday. The eight COVID-positive patients is the highest the hospital has had since it also had eight on Sept. 12, but still two fewer than the high of 10 reported July 23.
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was updated Wednesday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and showed that Whatcom County is missing the marks on three 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 69.7.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 296.6. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 275.3.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 2.2%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 87.1% 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 3.1% reported by the state.
Whatcom age breakdown
Nearly 70% of Whatcom County’s new cases during the November surge have been among people between ages 20 and 59, according to The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of age range data provided in Whatcom Unified Command’s daily situation reports.
The Oct. 30 situation report, which was the last report in October, showed a total of 1,565 cases. By the Nov. 17 report, that total had grown 20.8% to 1,890 cases. That growth of 325 cases was an average of 141.8 per 100,000 people in the county, based on 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
Breaking the data down by age groups so far in November showed:
▪ 39.4% of all cases occurred in Whatcom residents between the ages of 20 and 39, as it rose from 572 to 700 (22.4%). That 128-case increase represents an infection rate of 196.8 cases per 100,000 people in that age range.
▪ 30.2% of all cases occurred in Whatcom residents between the ages of 40 and 59, as it rose from 370 to 468 (26.4%). That 98-case increase represents an infection rate of 183.3 cases per 100,000 people in that age range.
▪ 15.4% of all cases occurred in Whatcom residents 19 and younger, as it rose from 290 to 340 (17.2%). That 50-case increase represents an infection rate of 95.2 cases per 100,000 people in that age range.
▪ 13.8% of all cases occurred in Whatcom residents between the ages of 60 and 79, as it rose from 223 to 268 (20.2%). That 45-case increase represents an infection rate of 91.2 cases per 100,000 people in that age range.
▪ 1.2% of all cases occurred in Whatcom residents 80 and older, as it rose from 110 to 114 (3.6%). That four-case increase represents an infection rate of 45.0 cases per 100,000 people in that age range.
WWU suspends in-person classes
Western Washington University announced in a campus advisory Wednesday that it is suspending all in-person courses and moving to remote learning beginning Thursday, Nov. 19.
“Over the past week, Western has seen what we view as a sudden and significant increase in positive student tests, both of individuals and in the batches analyzed in our surveillance testing program,” WWU President Sabah Randhawa said in the advisory. “We have seen five new positive individual tests, and other positive tests among pooled testing batches.”
WWU’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 9,313 students, 15 of whom had positive tests. The number of positive tests stood at only five as recently as the first of the month.
“These increases on campus and in the local community significantly impact Western’s ability to prevent transmission of the virus through testing, contact tracing, and providing isolation/quarantine spaces and services for affected students,” Randhawa wrote.
Throughout the fall quarter, the vast majority of classes were already being held remotely, and after Thanksgiving break, all courses were scheduled to move to remote learning anyway, so Wednesday’s announcement only cuts out a little more than a week of in-person learning for a limited number of courses.
But the advisory also said that the Viking Union and its multi-purpose room study space will be closed until further notice. All in-person athletic practices and training, including the use of Carver Gymnasium, also have been suspended until further notice.
The university’s voluntary testing program at Fraser Hall will continue, though appointments must be made ahead of time.
Whatcom Community College has primarily been online during the fall quarter, spokesperson Marisa Ellis said in email to The Bellingham Herald, and it will continue to do so for the winter quarter.
“A very limited amount of pre-approved on-campus activity has and will continue to take place, with safety protocols followed, including licensure requirements for health professions students,” Ellis wrote.
Lummi returns to Phase 1
The Lummi Nation has returned to Phase 1 of its Shelter in Place order, according to a Lummi Communications Facebook post Tuesday evening, and it will remain there for four weeks until Dec. 15.
On Wednesday, the Lummi Tribal Health Center reported its 91st case in the Lummi community. The Lummi community now has 13 cases so far in November and 27 since Oct. 1.
The move to Phase 1 became necessary, according to the post, after the average number of new cases had doubled over the past two weeks. Add in the recent spikes across the country, state and Whatcom County tied to family gatherings in homes, and the Lummi Public Health team determined it essential to add additional restrictions as the holidays approach.
During Phase 1:
▪ Those at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and people who are sick are urged to stay in their home as much as possible.
▪ Every person must maintain social distancing outside their home.
▪ No indoor gatherings are permitted, while only outdoor gatherings of fewer than five people from different households are permitted.
▪ All funerals must follow protocols approved by the Lummi Indian Business Council.
▪ Travel is restricted to Whatcom County and any other areas in Washington state were infection rates are lower than 75 per 100,000 the past two weeks.
▪ Face coverings are required over the nose and mouth in an indoor or outdoor setting.
WIAA changes schedule
Due to surging COVID-19 cases around the state, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Board voted Tuesday to delay the start and shorten high school sports schedules to seven weeks in length.
The changes announced in a release Wednesday morning include:
▪ Season 2 (traditional winter sports including basketball) will begin practices Feb. 1 and will end with regional events on March 20.
▪ Season 3 (traditional fall sports including football) will begin March 15 (March 8 for football) and end on May 1.
▪ Season 4 (traditional spring sports including baseball and softball) will begin with practices on April 26 and conclude June 12.
Season 2 was initially supposed to begin Dec. 28.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Wednesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 11.4 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 250,180 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 56.1 million reported cases and 1.3 million deaths.
Wednesday afternoon Washington state also reported these numbers from the Department of Health:
▪ 135,424 reported cases, an increase of 1,303 from data on Tuesday.
▪ 9,622 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 49 from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,835,472 total tests, an increase of 22,391 from data Tuesday.
▪ 2,592 deaths related to COVID-19, 21 more than were reported Tuesday, meaning that 1.9% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Washington state actions
Gov. Inslee announced new rules Sunday, Nov. 15, that will go into effect statewide this week that will eliminate indoor service at restaurants and bars, close indoor activity at gyms, and limit occupancy at retail stores to 25% in an effort to curb the dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases in Washington state.
The restrictions are scheduled to last four weeks, until Dec. 14.
Inslee issued a travel advisory for Washington state on Friday, Nov. 13, 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.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Inslee 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 18, 2020 at 5:02 PM.
