14 new COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County, state reports Sunday

Whatcom County saw 14 more residents test positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported on Sunday, Nov. 29. The state does not report deaths on the weekend.

Whatcom County now has seen 2,357 confirmed cases and 53 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27. That means that 2.2% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.

The state Department of Health data Sunday also shows Whatcom County has had 139 hospitalizations (no change from Saturday).

The Department of Health did not release test numbers Sunday. It has paused reporting test numbers until Monday, Nov. 30, to clear a backlog of tests.

The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported one new case Sunday and two Saturday afternoon, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 113. The Lummi community now has 35 cases so far in November and 49 since Oct. 1.

As of Wednesday, the Lummi health department reported it had 19 active cases, but no hospitalizations. During the pandemic, four people have been hospitalized, but there have been no related deaths and the health center has conducted 2,655 tests.

The Lummi Indian Business Council moved the community back into Phase 1 of its Shelter in Place Order until at least Dec. 15.

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Saturday that it was treating 17 patients for COVID-19, no change from Saturday but just one less than the record 18 reported on Monday, Nov. 23.

Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data shows that, since Sept. 15, WWU has tested 11,536 students, 28 of whom had positive tests. The number of positive tests stood at only five as recently as the first of the month.

Numbers elsewhere

COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Sunday afternoon:

▪ The U.S. has more than 13.35 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 266,778 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 62.61 million reported cases and 1.45 million deaths.

Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Sunday:

▪ 162,700 reported cases, an increase of 2,066 from data on Saturday.

▪ 10,759 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 96 from data Saturday.

▪ 2,703 deaths related to COVID-19 on Friday, a decrease of one from data reported Thursday, meaning that 1.7% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died. The state does not report deaths on weekends.

Washington state actions

Gov. Inslee announced 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 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 29, 2020 at 3:02 PM.