Whatcom County sees 12 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday; Lummi received Pfizer vaccine
Whatcom County recorded 12 new COVID-19 cases, according to the Washington State Department of Health Tuesday, Dec. 15, and no additional deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,936 confirmed cases and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14 That means that 1.8% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The 12 new cases reported Tuesday are the lowest total Whatcom has seen since 11 positive test results were reported Dec. 3.
The state Department of Health data Tuesday also showed Whatcom County has had 165 hospitalizations (unchanged from Monday’s report).
The state also reported that a total of 99,026 tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 141 tests from Monday’s report. The state continues to caution that “test data from Nov. 21 through today are incomplete and should be interpreted with caution.”
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Monday that it was treating nine patients for COVID-19 — a decrease of two from Monday and the first time that number has been in single digits since Nov. 19.
The Nooksack Indian Tribe announced in a Facebook post Monday that it has seen two more cases within its community. The community now five tribal members and two non-tribal members who have tested positive. An eighth person is presumed to be positive, but is awaiting test results. So far, the Nooksack health team has conducted 1,954 tests during the pandemic.
Lummi receives vaccine
The Lummi Public Health Department received 300 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, according to a release, and the Lummi Indian Business Council approved distributing it to the community’s medical and dental staff, residents of a retirement and assisted living facility and members of the Lummi Police Department this week.
“This is welcome news in a really tough year,” Lummi Nation Chairman Lawrence Solomon said in the release. “We are blessed to be able to protect some of our most vulnerable, frontline workers against the virus.”
The council also announced that it has extended its Shelter in Place order — originally set to expire Tuesday — until Jan. 12.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center has had 133 total cases during the pandemic, including 69 new cases since Oct. 1. As of Sunday, the Lummi health department reported four people have been hospitalized, but there have been no related deaths and the health center has conducted 3,028 tests.
Though the news that the community has received the vaccine is good news, Lummi Public Health Department Medical Director Dakotah Lane cautioned “we are far from out of harm’s way.”
“The need is far greater than the available number of vaccines at this time,” Lane said in the release. “Every member of our community should continue to shelter in place, wear a mask, and limit contact with members outside their household. We have a long way to go before we reach immunity at the scale that would be needed to roll back other protective measures.”
The Lummi health department is also continuing to explore participating in the Phase 3 trial for the Norvax vaccine, according to the release, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates Native Americans are 3.5 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19, 5.3 times more likely to be hospitalized because of it and die from COVID 1.8 times higher than non-Native populations.
“Getting as many approved vaccines on the market as possible will be critical in slowing the spread of the virus,” Solomon said in the release. “We’re grateful for the Lummi Public Health Department’s ongoing commitment to keeping our community safe and healthy, and we are thankful to our community members who keep us safe by wearing a mask and sheltering in place. Together, we are making a difference.”
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Tuesday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday. 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 225.5.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 44.7. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 297.4. The state Department of Health has said that testing data since Nov. 21 is incomplete and that is 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 40.0%. 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 Tuesday for data through Monday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 965 of the region’s 1,218 adult hospital beds (79.2%) were occupied, making the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 137 of the region’s 1,239 adult hospital beds (11.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, missing the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 83 of the region’s 140 adult ICU beds (59.3%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but the number is seven less than in Monday’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 it was unchanged from Monday’s report.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Tuesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 16.6 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 303,046 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 73.3 million reported cases and 1.6 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Tuesday afternoon:
▪ 205,069 reported cases, an increase of 1,272 from data on Monday. Up to 1,100 duplicate cases may be included in statewide totals, according to the state.
▪ 12,773 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 124 from data Monday.
▪ 3,411,676 total tests, an increase of 31,332 from Monday.
▪ 2,953 deaths related to COVID-19, 35 more than were reported Monday, meaning that 1.4% 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.
