Whatcom sees 81 COVID-19 cases in two days, as last week’s testing positivity rate tops 4%
Whatcom County has had one new death and 81 more residents test positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported on Monday, Nov. 23. The numbers were for two days as the state did not release any numbers Sunday, Nov. 22.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,120 confirmed cases and 53 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22. That means that 1.8% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state Department of Health data Monday also shows Whatcom County has had 127 hospitalizations (an increase of 4 from Saturday’s report).
The Department of Health did not release test numbers. Saturday it announced that it was experiencing a reporting delay of 1-2 days due to an increased volume of lab test results.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Monday that it was treating 18 patients for COVID-19, an increase of three from Sunday and the most COVID-19 patients since it began sharing patient numbers on May 5.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 10,438 students, 25 of whom had positive tests. The number of positive tests stood at only five as recently as the first of the month.
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was updated Monday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday 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 119.0.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 305.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 281.6.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 2.4%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by patients with 83.1% 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 7.1% reported by the state.
Another record week
The state Department of Health reported 197 new cases in Whatcom County last week — the highest weekly number of new cases the county has seen during the pandemic, breaking the old record of 148 set one week earlier — as the reported case total grew from 1,842 on Saturday, Nov. 14 to 2,039 on Saturday, Nov. 21.
It marked only the third time during the pandemic that Whatcom’s weekly new cases made triple digits — the previous high was 113 cases between June 21 and 27.
According to an analysis by The Bellingham Herald, the county also had its highest estimated test positivity rate in nearly five months.
State data reported an increase of 4,709 tests last week, meaning an estimated 4.18% of those tests came back positive. That’s a substantial increase from the 2.99% estimated positivity rate from the week before.
It also represents the second-highest weekly rate when testing data has been reported, behind only the high of 5.08% from June 21-27, when only 2,223 tests were reported.
“There is more disease in the community,” Whatcom County Health Director Erika Lautenbach said in a health department online briefing Monday. “This is not because we are doing more testing, which we are, but because there is increased spread in the community.”
Lautenbach reiterated that the county’s low-barrier, drive-thru testing program has reached its maximum capacity — something she said is becoming common around the state.
“It’s truly overwhelming our testing system in our state, not just here in Whatcom County,” Lautenbach said.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Monday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 12.395 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 257,549 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 59.09 million reported cases and 1.39 million deaths.
Monday evening Washington state also reported these numbers from the Department of Health that reflect date from two days:
▪ 147,537 reported cases, an increase of 6,277 from data on Saturday.
▪ 10,096 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 331 from data Saturday.
▪ 2,655 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 36 reported Friday, meaning that 1.8% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Whatcom library buildings close
Less than a month after re-opening, the Whatcom County Library system on Monday closed its 10 locations in Blaine, Deming, Everson, Ferndale, Kendall, Lummi Island, Lynden, Point Roberts, Sudden Valley and Sumas. The libraries will continue to offer curbside pickup and online services, including WiFi in library parking lots, according to a news release.
The decision was made, the release stated, after consulting with the health department, which encouraged the closure due to escalating COVID cases throughout the county in an effort to reduce transmission of the disease.
This is the second time the library buildings have closed to in-person services due to COVID, as the system closed March 16 and re-opened Nov. 2.
Washington state actions
Gov. Inslee announced new rules Sunday, Nov. 15, that 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 23, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
