COVID-19 infection rates continue to spiral out of control in two Whatcom regions
A week after the Whatcom County Health Department urged instant action in response to “skyrocketing” COVID-19 case numbers in northern parts of the county, infection rates in those areas spiraled even further out of control, according to new data.
Two regions in Whatcom now have infection rates well above 1,000 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks, according to data released Tuesday, Jan. 19, by the health department, as the region covered by the Lynden School District saw its rate increase by 410 to join the area covered by the Nooksack Valley School District.
Nooksack, meanwhile, saw its infection rate grow by 515, setting yet another record high for the county during the pandemic, according to the data.
Only the region covered by the Meridian School District had its infection rate decrease last week, according to the data, though the Bellingham region’s rate increased by only one.
The health department said last week that 80% of known transmission sources continue to be from social events and within households.
“This means that most of the new cases are contracted from friends and loved ones,” the health department said in a release last week. “The Whatcom County Health Department advises against social gatherings of any size with non-household members at this time.”
The county health department releases weekly data on the location of COVID-19 cases using school districts as geographical boundaries, including each region’s number of total cases during the pandemic and its infection rates. Data in Tuesday’s report was through Saturday, Jan. 16, and the infection rates reflected cases between Jan. 3 and 16.
For the second straight week, all seven regions had infection rates above 200.
Overall, the county saw a 12.1% growth in cases (497 cases) since the last data release on Jan. 13 — a decrease from the 15.5% growth and 549 new cases seen the previous week, according to the county’s data.
With 1,046 cases the past two weeks, according to the report, Whatcom County overall has an infection rate of 464.9, based on 225,000 residents in the county. Three of the county’s regions had infection rates higher than that mark, according to the county’s data.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
Bellingham: Up 7.4% (124 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 1,793 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 232 to 233.
Blaine: Up 12.1% (28 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 260 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 250 to 341.
Ferndale: Up 10.7% (81 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 839 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 338 to 433.
Lynden: Up 21.4% (127 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 720 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 850 to 1,260.
Meridian: Up 8.2% (20 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 265 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 399 to 344.
Mount Baker: Up 17.5% (39 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 262 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 456 to 589.
Nooksack Valley: Up 20.5% (78 cases) since the Jan. 13 report to 459 total cases and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 1,147 to 1,662.
