Whatcom sees 39 COVID-19 cases Thursday, as Bellingham schools report 2 more infections
Three deaths were removed from Whatcom County COVID-19 statistics by the Washington State Department of Health Thursday, Dec. 10, as 39 new cases were reported.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,802 confirmed cases and 51 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9. That means that 1.8% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state continues to clarify and change cases, as it has done since the pandemic began. Case counts may include up to 300 duplicates, the state noted on its dashboard, cautioning that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.”
The state Department of Health data Thursday also showed Whatcom County has had 161 hospitalizations (two more than Wednesday’s report).
The state also reported that a total of 98,242 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 127 tests from Wednesday’s report.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating 14 patients for COVID-19 — down one from Wednesday. The hospital hit a record of 21 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
New Bellingham schools cases
Bellingham Public Schools has seen two new cases in elementary schools the past two weeks, resulting in two more classes being shifted to online learning. That brings to four the number of cases the school district has seen since students began returning for in-person learning.
That information is now available on the district’s new COVID-19 Dashboard, which launched Wednesday.
During the week of Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, one new case was reported in a Birchwood Elementary classroom, according to the dashboard. The case required the closure of one class, which will return Dec. 17. It is the second case at Birchwood Elementary, which also had one case the week of Nov. 16-20, which required the closure of a class until Nov. 30.
This week, a new case also emerged at Silver Beach Elementary, according to the dashboard, which will result in one class being closed until Jan. 4.
The fourth case occurred at Wade King Elementary the week before Thanksgiving and resulted in one class returning to in-person learning until Dec. 3.
The district’s new dashboard, which includes its protocol after it is notified of a new case, estimated the district’s number of students and staff involved in in-person learning at 1,200.
Nooksack see new cases
The Nooksack Indian Tribe announced in a Facebook post Wednesday that it has five presumptive positive tests for COVID-19, though confirmation was still pending. The likely new cases are believed to be linked to a known case outside the Nooksack community.
Before Wednesday’s announcement, only one Nooksack community member — a non-tribal employee — had a confirmed case during the pandemic, according to a post Tuesday, Dec. 8.
“We understand that news of potential cases within our community could create uncertainty,” Wednesday’s post read. “Please know that our task force is working intensively to limit exposure, help those who need help and perform the work necessary to keep the government operational and the entire community safe.”
To that end, the community also instituted a Shelter in Place Order, requiring all residents on Nooksack Tribal land to stay in their homes at all times except for essential activities, such as fishing or hunting, grocery shopping, medical care, banking, caring for a sick or elderly family member, getting gas and outdoor activities with household members only.
The Lummi Nation has reported on Facebook that it has instituted a similar Shelter in Place Order, which is currently in Phase 1 and set to expire Dec. 15
The Lummi Tribal Health Center has reported 127 cases, including 63 cases since Oct. 1. As of Tuesday, the Lummi health department reported it had 12 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 2,893 tests.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Wednesday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. 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 232.1.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 33.6. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 181.7. The state Department of Health has said that testing data since Nov. 21 is incomplete, and that likely impacting this metric.
▪ 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 41.9%. The state Department of Health has said that testing data since Nov. 21 is incomplete, and that likely impacting this metric.
The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, which was last updated Thursday for data through Wednesday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 1,019 of the region’s 1,220 adult hospital beds (83.5%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 130 of the region’s 1,241 adult hospital beds (10.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, missing the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 100 of the region’s 138 adult ICU beds (72.5%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but the number is seven less than in Wednesday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 31 of the region’s 138 adult ICU beds (22.5%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but 10 fewer beds were occupied than in Wednesday’s report.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Thursday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 15.5 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 292,091 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 69.4 million reported cases and 1.58 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Thursday afternoon:
▪ 192,413 reported cases, an increase of 2,550 from data on Wednesday.
▪ 12,084 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 88 from data Wednesday.
▪ 3,256,838 total tests, an increase of 31,410 from Wednesday.
▪ 2,850 deaths related to COVID-19, a decrease of 166 from what was reported Wednesday and meaning that 1.5% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Washington state actions
Gov. Inslee announced rules 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.
Those restrictions were originally scheduled to last until Dec. 14, but on Dec. 8, Inslee announced they have been extended another three weeks to Jan. 4.
Inslee issued a travel advisory for Washington state on 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 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 10, 2020 at 5:06 PM.
