Whatcom sees 37 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 1 death, state reports Wednesday
Whatcom County has recorded one new death of a person with COVID-19 and 37 new confirmed cases of the illness, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
The state reported case counts may include up to 270 duplicates in Washington.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 3,388 confirmed cases and 55 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29 That means that 1.6% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Nine additional 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.
The state Department of Health data Wednesday also showed Whatcom County has had 182 hospitalizations, an increase of three since Tuesday’s report.
The state reported that a total of 126,136 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 145 tests from Tuesday’s report. The state continues to caution that test data from Nov. 21 to Nov. 30 are incomplete.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday that it was treating 17 patients for COVID-19 — an increase of one from Tuesday.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported a new case Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 141, including 77 new cases since Oct. 1. As of Tuesday, the Lummi health department reported it had six active cases and no hospitalizations. During the pandemic, five people have been hospitalized, but there have been no related deaths and the health center has conducted 3,153 tests.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard Wednesday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday 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 193.5.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 390.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 317. The state Department of Health has said that testing data from Nov. 21-30 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 3.5%. The state Department of Health has said that testing data Nov. 21-30 is incomplete and that is likely impacting this metric.
The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, updated Wednesday evening for data through Tuesday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 1,045 of the region’s 1,351 adult hospital beds (77.4%) were occupied, meeting the state’s goal of 80% or less.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 155 of the region’s 1,351 adult hospital beds (11.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, missing the state’s goal of 10% or less.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 90 of the region’s 149 adult ICU beds (60.4%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of 14 from Tuesday’s report.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 35 of the region’s 149 adult ICU beds (23.5%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was a decrease of one from Tuesday’s report.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Wednesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 19.69 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and 341,505 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 82.53 million reported cases and 1.80 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Wednesday afternoon:
▪ 232,993 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,269 from reported cases on Tuesday.
▪ 9,337 probable cases, an increase of 225 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 14,571 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 126 from data Tuesday.
▪ 3,805,390 total molecular tests, an increase of 7,069 from Tuesday’s data.
▪ 3,420 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 51 deaths from data reported Tuesday meaning that 1.4% of the state residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
Washington state actions
State rules that eliminated indoor service at restaurants and bars, closed indoor activity at gyms, and limited occupancy at retail stores to 25% were extended Dec. 30 from Jan. 4 to Jan. 11.
Gov. Jay 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 30, 2020 at 4:38 PM.
