Whatcom sees 32 more COVID-19 cases Saturday, state reports

Whatcom County saw its number of COVID-19 cases increase by 32, the Washington State Department of Health reported Saturday, Dec. 5. Deaths are not reported on the weekend.

Whatcom County now has seen 2,627 confirmed cases and 56 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4. That means that 2.1% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.

The 32 cases Saturday mark the ninth time in the past two weeks that the county’s daily case count has topped 25.

The state Department of Health data Saturday also showed Whatcom County has had 155 hospitalizations (an increase of three from Friday).

The state also reported that a total of 97,678 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 56 tests from Friday. The state cautioned, though that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.”

The state also said Saturday that due to increased laboratory report volumes, case counts statewide may include up to 650 duplicates and that some lab reports received Friday were not processed in time to be included in Saturday’s report.

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Saturday that it was treating 19 patients for COVID-19 — an increase of one from Friday.

Whatcom’s risk assessment

The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last 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.

Numbers elsewhere

COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Saturday evening:

▪ The U.S. has more than 14.5 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 281,121 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 66.4 million reported cases and 1.5 million deaths.

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

▪ 175,793 reported cases, an increase of 1,503 from data on Friday.

▪ 11,475 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 202 from data Friday.

▪ 3,133,845 total tests, an increase of 13,699 from Friday.

▪ 2,925 deaths related to COVID-19, meaning that 1.7% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died. Deaths are not reported on the 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 December 5, 2020 at 5:54 PM.