COVID cases reported among people living without shelter, Whatcom officials say
Cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, are being seen among Whatcom County’s homeless population, County Council members learned Tuesday, Nov. 24.
Health Director Erika Lautenbach told the council that health officials will be visiting a tent encampment at Bellingham City Hall that was established on Veterans Day to draw attention to the lack of winter shelter for the area’s estimated 700 people who don’t have a place to live.
“We have had cases in our homeless population, but we have not had outbreaks that have caused concern,” Lautenbach said.
An “outbreak” is two or more people who became infected from the same source, according to the Health Department’s definition.
“We’re absolutely concerned about this population and their ability to social distance and also have a place to recover,” Lautenbach said.
Meanwhile, Lighthouse Mission Ministries CEO Hans Erchinger-Davis told The Bellingham Herald on Tuesday that there have been no known positive cases at Base Camp, its downtown shelter.
“We haven’t seen it, at least among the cases we’re working with,” Erchinger-Davis said.
Base Camp, which accommodates about 190 people, has been about 80% full in recent days, according to data from the Lighthouse Mission website.
Lautenbach said Health Department officials were planning to visit the protest site on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Anne Deacon, human services manager, said some of the people at the protest site aren’t homeless.
“There is some desire to make a statement that this is an important cause to address,” Deacon said.
