Whatcom has 11 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, state says Tuesday
Whatcom County has 11 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and continues to have nine probable cases, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday, Dec. 22. No new deaths were reported for the county.
Whatcom County now has seen 3,188 confirmed cases, and 52 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21. That means that 1.6% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Nine probable cases have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic resulting from positive antigen tests, but those cases were not confirmed by a molecular test.
On Wednesday, Dec. 16, the state added probable cases reported since June 2020 to all case, hospitalization, and death counts. “Probable cases are those where individuals had a positive antigen test result for COVID-19, but no positive molecular test result,” according to the state Health Department website.
The state Department of Health data Tuesday also showed Whatcom County has had 171 hospitalizations, an increase of two since the Monday report.
The state also reported that a total of 106,308 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 3,773 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 Tuesday that it was treating 10 patients for COVID-19 — a decrease of one from Monday.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Tuesday for data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday 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 220.2.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 88.3. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 290.4. 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 15.4%. The state Department of Health has said that testing data since Nov. 21 is incomplete and that is likely impacting this metric.
The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, updated Tuesday for data through Monday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 946 of the region’s 1,204 adult hospital beds (78.6%) were occupied, making the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 80 of the region’s 1,204 adult hospital beds (6.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 82 of the region’s 140 adult ICU beds (58.6%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of two from Monday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 20 of the region’s 140 adult ICU beds (14.3%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was a decrease of 10 from Monday’s report.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Tuesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 18.19 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 322,285 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 77.91 million reported cases and 1.71 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Tuesday afternoon:
▪ 219,584 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,169 from reported cases on Monday.
▪ 8,303 probable cases, an increase of 83 from Monday’s data.
▪ 13,590 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 75 from data Monday.
▪ 3,590,459 total molecular tests, an increase of 30,764 from Saturday’s data.
▪ 3,131 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 25 from Monday’s data, 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.
