After another big week, Whatcom County sees 18 new COVID-19 cases on Monday
Whatcom County recorded 18 new COVID-19 cases, according to the Washington State Department of Health Monday, Dec. 14. No additional deaths were reported over the weekend.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,924 confirmed cases and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13. That means that 1.8% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The 18 new cases reported Monday are the lowest total Whatcom has seen since 14 positive test results were reported Dec. 6
The state Department of Health data Monday also showed Whatcom County has had 165 hospitalizations (an increase of two from Sunday’s report).
The state also reported that a total of 98,885 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 121 tests from Sunday report. The state continues to caution that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.” Up to 2,000 duplicate cases may be included in statewide totals, according to the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Monday that it was treating 11 patients for COVID-19 — an increase of one from Sunday.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported sixth new cases over the weekend, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 133, including 69 new cases since Oct. 1. As of Sunday, the Lummi health department reported it had 13 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 3,028 tests.
Another big week
Whatcom County saw an 11.3% decrease in the number of new cases last week, but still posted its third-largest weekly total of positive COVID-19 tests during the pandemic.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 252 new cases in the county between Dec. 6 through Dec. 12, as Whatcom’s case total during the pandemic grew from 2,627 to 2,879. The only weeks that the county has seen more cases are the previous two, when Whatcom had 304 cases between Nov. 22 and 28 and 284 from Nov. 29 to Dec. 5.
It marked the fifth straight week Whatcom has surpassed 100 cases in a week and the sixth week during the pandemic that the county’s case county has reached triple figures.
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 now is not yet complete, so test positivity rates cannot accurately be estimated at this time.
So far, the state reported Whatcom only conducted 945 tests last week — less than 20% of the average weekly totals the state was reporting before Nov. 21. In the three weeks since Nov. 21, the state has reported only 3,995 tests have been conducted in Whatcom County — an average of well less than 1,500 per week.
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 234.8.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 44.1. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 281.8. 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 38.6%. 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 Monday for data through Sunday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 991 of the region’s 1,222 adult hospital beds (81.1%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 131 of the region’s 1,243 adult hospital beds (10.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, missing the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 90 of the region’s 140 adult ICU beds (64.3%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but the number is six less than in Friday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 37 of the region’s 140 adult ICU beds (26.4%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but two 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 16.4 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 300,586 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 72.6 million reported cases and 1.6 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Monday afternoon:
▪ 203,797 reported cases, an increase of 1,734 from data on Sunday.
▪ 12,649 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 124 from data Sunday.
▪ 3,380,344 total tests, an increase of 32,441 from Sunday.
▪ 2,918 deaths related to COVID-19, 39 more than were reported Friday, meaning that 1.4% 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 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.
