Whatcom sees 46 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, state reports Saturday

Whatcom County saw 46 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard on Saturday, Jan. 30. Deaths are not reported on the weekends.

Overall, Whatcom County has seen 5,520 confirmed cases and 64 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, meaning 1.2% of all COVID cases in Whatcom County have been linked to a death.

Twenty-six additional probable cases — an increase of nine from Friday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.

Since Jan. 1, Whatcom County’s reported case total has increased by 2,048 — already the largest count in a month the county has seen by more than 700 cases and more than a third (37.1%) of the county’s total cases during the pandemic.

The state cautioned that Saturday’s case numbers could include up to 560 duplicates statewide.

The state Department of Health data Saturday also showed Whatcom County has had 270 hospitalizations during the pandemic, a decrease of three from Friday’s report.

The state reported that a total of 148,451 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 657 tests from Friday’s report. The state cautioned that negative test results from Nov. 21-30 and since Jan. 12 still are incomplete.

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Herald on Saturday it was treating 26 patients for COVID-19, a decrease of five from Friday’s report. St. Joseph has banned visitors at the medical center until further notice while COVID-19 remains a public health threat.

Whatcom County Health will hold a virtual town hall concerning vaccine updates at 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 4, the organization announced on Facebook. Any questions should be submitted to the questionnaire form by Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Whatcom’s risk assessment

The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28. With a shift to “Healthy Washington” goals to resume business activities, the state is more specific on reporting dates for some metrics. The dashboard does not update on the weekends.

Whatcom County was missing the marks on two key metrics:

▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents Jan. 6-19 with a rate of 488.2 — a decrease from 520.6 reported Thursday.

▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people Jan. 5-11 of 432.1. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 324.7, but Whatcom’s average was a decrease from the 443.2 reported Wednesday.

▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 Jan. 5-11 with a rate of 9.3% — an increase from the 9.0% reported Thursday.

The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, updated Friday evening for data through Thursday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:

▪ Occupied beds: 1,107 of the region’s 1,2656 adult hospital beds (87.5%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and an increase of 57 occupied beds from data Thursday.

▪ COVID occupied beds: 102 of the region’s 1,265 adult hospital beds (8.1%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less and an increase of four occupied beds from data Thursday.

▪ Occupied ICU beds: 99 of the region’s 137 adult ICU beds (72.3%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was a decrease of two beds being used from data Thursday.

▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 24 of the region’s 137 adult ICU beds (17.5%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of one bed being used from data Thursday.

Mass vaccinations sites

Over 10,000 people received vaccine shots at four mass vaccination sites across the state, prompting open registration for the second week of vaccinations, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

The four sites were located in Spokane, Ridgefield, Wenatchee and Kennewick. The sites were staffed by members of the Department of Health, the Washington National Guard and other local and private sector officials.

Through the first week, 2,509 people were vaccinated in Spokane, along with 3,060 people in Ridgefield, 1,550 people in Wenatchee and 3,817 people in Kennewick.

To make an appointment at one of the sites, you must find out if you are eligible for the vaccine by using the Phase Finder tool. Only people in Phase 1A or Phase 1B-1 are eligible, including high-risk healthcare workers, high-risk first responders and all adults over the age of 65.

Spokane

Spokane Arena, 720 W. Mallon Ave.

Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday–Sunday.

Registration opens Monday at 5 p.m. Make an appointment online. If you need assistance, call 509-444-8200.

Ridgefield

Clark County Fairgrounds, 17402 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield.

Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Friday and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday.

Registration opens Sunday at noon. About 800 appointments will be available each day. Make an appointment online. If you need assistance, call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127, then press the pound key. Language assistance is available.

Wenatchee

Town Toyota Center, 1300 Walla Walla Ave.

Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday.

Registration opens Sunday at noon. At least 700 appointments will be available each day. Make an appointment online. If you need assistance, call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127 and press the pound key.

Kennewick

Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 S. Oak St., Kennewick.

Hours: 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday.

Registration is open. Roughly 800 appointments are available each day. Make an appointment online. If you need assistance, call the COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127, then press the pound key. Language assistance is available.

Numbers elsewhere

New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Saturday evening:

▪ The U.S. has more than 26.05 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 439,405 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 102 million reported cases and 2.2 million deaths.

Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Saturday evening:

▪ 297,513 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,652 from reported cases on Friday.

▪ 14,084 probable cases, an increase of 144 from Friday’s data.

▪ 17,706 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 163 from data Friday.

▪ 4,548,239 total molecular tests, an increase of 24,018 from Friday’s data.

▪ 4,285 deaths related to COVID-19 were reported Friday. Deaths are not reported on the weekend.

Washington state actions

In the “Healthy Washington” plan introduced by Gov. Jay Inslee Jan. 5, business resumption is tied to targets by health system regions. Whatcom is tied to Skagit, San Juan and Island counties in the plan.

The state will run analyses every other Friday to determine whether regions will move backward or forward in phases the following Monday, officials said.

All regions began in Phase 1 on Jan. 11, and the Puget Sound and West Region will move to Phase 2 Monday, Feb. 1. It allows live entertainment with ticketed groups of up to 10 people and very limited fitness activities such as appointment-based training in gyms.

Phase 2 allows restaurants and indoor fitness centers to open indoors at 25% capacity and allows for sports competitions to resume with limited spectators, and wedding, and funeral ceremonies can increase capacities.

Whatcom County is in the North Region, along with Skagit, San Juan and Island counties, and remains in Phase 1.