Whatcom sees 65 more COVID-19 cases Monday, but death total decreases by 3
Whatcom County saw its number of COVID-19 cases increase by 65, the Washington State Department of Health reported Monday, Dec. 7, but its death total was reduced by three over the weekend
Whatcom County now has seen 2,706 confirmed cases and 53 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. That means that 2.0% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state Department of Health data Monday also showed Whatcom County has had 156 hospitalizations (unchanged from Sunday).
The state also reported that a total of 97,837 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 115 tests from Sunday. The state cautioned, though that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.”
The 65 new cases reported Monday were the largest increase Whatcom County has seen since Wednesday, Dec. 2, when 76 were reported. It was also the fourth-largest increase the county has seen in a single day during the pandemic.
The state gave no explanation why the county’s total of COVID-related deaths was decreased, but throughout the pandemic it has been common for the state to reconcile death totals days after announcing deaths were related to coronavirus. Three deaths were reported Thursday, Dec. 3, but it is not known if it was those three deaths that were subtracted from Whatcom’s total.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Monday that it was treating 16 patients for COVID-19 — a decrease of three from Sunday. The hospital hit a record of 21 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported five new cases late Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 124. The Lummi community has had 60 new cases since Oct. 1.
As of Saturday, the Lummi health department reported it had 16 active cases and no hospitalizations. During the pandemic, four people have been hospitalized, but there have been no related deaths and the health center has conducted 2,877 tests.
The Lummi Indian Business Council moved the community back into Phase 1 of its Shelter in Place Order until at least Dec. 15.
Another near-record week
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County last week dropped 20 cases from the previous week, but the 284 new cases reported Nov. 29 through Dec. 5 still were the second highest mark the county has seen during the pandemic. The number of cases grew from 2,343 to 2,627.
It marked the fifth time during the pandemic that Whatcom’s weekly new cases made triple digits and the fourth straight week Whatcom has surpassed 100 cases in a week.
Though the state resumed reporting the number of tests conducted on Friday, Dec. 4, it cautioned in a note accompanying the data that testing data between Nov. 21 and Dec. 4 was not yet complete, so test positivity rates could not accurately be estimated at this time.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Monday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday. 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 226.8.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 48.4. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 211.0.
▪ 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 32.5%.
Here is what the latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, which was last updated Monday for data through Sunday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 984 of the region’s 1,218 adult hospital beds (80.8%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 124 of the region’s 1,239 adult hospital beds (10.0%) were occupied by COVID patients, missing the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 107 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (77.0%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but three more beds were occupied than in Friday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 45 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (32.4%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but eight more beds were occupied than in Friday’s report.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Monday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 14.9 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 283,650 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 67.5 million reported cases and 1.5 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Monday:
▪ 184,404 reported cases, an increase of 6,957 from data on Sunday.
▪ 11,696 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 152 from data Sunday.
▪ 3,164,714 total tests, an increase of 21,714 from Sunday.
▪ 2,941 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 16 from what was reported Friday and meaning that 1.6% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died. New 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 7, 2020 at 7:38 PM.
