Whatcom sees 39 more COVID-19 cases Friday, state reports
Whatcom County saw its number of COVID-19 cases increase by 39, the Washington State Department of Health reported Friday, Dec. 4, but no new coronavirus-related deaths were reported for the county.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,595 confirmed cases and 56 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3. That means that 2.2% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The 39 cases Friday mark the ninth time in the past two weeks that the county’s daily case count has topped 25. It also came one day after the county saw its number of COVID-related deaths increase by three.
“We are seeing cases in Whatcom County related to informal gatherings with friends or family, where people feel safe and put their guards down,” a Whatcom County Health Department Facebook post Thursday read. “When you gather indoors and don’t maintain distance or wear your mask, there is a risk of transmitting the virus even if you don’t have symptoms. No matter the venue, gathering is gathering.”
The state Department of Health data Friday also showed Whatcom County has had 152 hospitalizations (an increase of two from Thursday).
The state also resumed publishing negative test data Friday, reporting that a total of 97,622 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 2,994 tests since that data was last reported Nov. 21. The state cautioned, though that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.”
The state also said Friday that due to increased laboratory report volumes, case counts statewide may include up to 650 duplicates and that some lab reports received Thursday were not processed in time to be included in Friday’s report.
Updated ER policy
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating 18 patients for COVID-19 — unchanged from reports Wednesday and Thursday and down three from Tuesday’s record high of 21.
“As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in our community and we see more patients coming into our facilities testing positive, we are implementing additional visitor restrictions for the safety of our patients, caregivers and community,” PeaceHealth said in a Facebook statement Thursday.
Beginning Thursday, the post read, visitors were not allowed to accompany patients into the Emergency Department unless:
▪ They are a family member of a patient receiving end-of-life care.
▪ The parent or legal guardian of a child requiring hospitalization.
▪ A caregiver or attending to a patient who needs help with a language barrier or disability.
“These restrictions will remain in place until COVID-19 is no longer considered a public health threat,” the post read, offering more information at PeaceHealth’s coronavirus webpage.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was updated Friday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. It showed that Whatcom County is missing the marks on two 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 234.8.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 201.5. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 331.7.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 9.7%.
Here is what the latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, which was last updated Friday for data through Thursday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 1,059 of the region’s 1,2367 adult hospital beds (85.7%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 123 of the region’s 1,257 adult hospital beds (9.8%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 104 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (76.5%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but six more beds were occupied than in Thursday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 37 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (27.2%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but two more beds were occupied than in Thursday’s report.
WA notify update
The Washington State Department of Health announced Friday that more than 1 million users had activated WA Notify, the anonymous notification tool that uses smartphones to track possible exposures to COVID-19.
As of 10 a.m. Friday, more than 19% of all Washington adults had activated the app, according to a release, and more people opted in during the first 24 hours after it was activated Monday, Nov. 30, than any other state using the technology.
“Opting into exposure notification is something almost every Washington resident with a smartphone can do to help stop the spread of COVID-19, so we are gratified to see so many people adopting it quickly,” Secretary of Health John Wiesman said in the release. “If you haven’t activated WA Notify yet, please consider doing so. Studies from Oxford University and Stanford show that the more people who use a tool like WA Notify, the more effectively it will protect our communities.”
WA Notify uses Bluetooth technology to exchange random codes with phones of other users they are near. If a user tests positive for COVID-19, they can enter a verification code provided by public health so that other users who may have been near them in the past 14 days can be anonymously alerted and take the appropriate action of isolating and contacting their healthcare provider to be tested.
WA Notify is free and can be enabled in iPhone setting or downloaded as an app from the Google Play Store for Android phones.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 14.3 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 278,563 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 65.7 million reported cases and 1.5 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday:
▪ 174,290 reported cases, an increase of 1,853 from data on Thursday.
▪ 11,273 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 78 from data Thursday.
▪ 3,120,146 total tests, an increase of 225,779 from data Nov. 21.
▪ 2,925 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 25 from Thursday, meaning that 1.7% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
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 December 4, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
CORRECTION: The Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard data was released Friday for data through Thursday.
