Whatcom sees two deaths and 74 new COVID cases Thursday, but rates appear to ‘level off’
Two more Whatcom County residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died and the number of confirmed cases in the county climbed by 74, the Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard reported on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 5,809 confirmed cases and 68 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, meaning 1.2% of all COVID cases in Whatcom County have been linked to a death.
Forty-seven additional probable cases — an increase of three from Wednesday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
The COVID-related deaths reported Thursday are Whatcom’s 12th and 13th reported so far in 2021, as nine have been reported in the past 10 days.
According to the state’s epidemiologic curves, the people whose deaths were reported Thursday first tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 6 and Jan. 29. No other information, such as gender, age or hometown, were reported.
The 74 new cases reported Thursday mean Whatcom County has had 2,340 cases — or 40.3% of its pandemic total — reported in 2021, and it has averaged 58.1 reported cases per day the past week.
The state cautioned that Thursday’s data may include up to 660 duplicate cases statewide.
“After significant declines from a post-holiday peak in mid-January, seven-day case rates have appeared to level off in Whatcom County,” Whatcom County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach said during an online briefing Thursday. “However our rates remain roughly double that of other counties in the region.
“Our relatively high rate is likely the result of that continued spread in the wake of our unique and really challenging post-holiday surge.”
Lautenbach added that rates among Whatcom’s working-age residents, particularly those 18 to 39, remain significantly higher than other age groups.
“We’ve also noticed that all sub-county areas within school district boundaries show promising declines in seven-day case rates,” Lautenbach said. “However, while the case rates in the Lynden and Nooksack communities have dropped rapidly from their post-holiday peak in mid-January, they now appear to be leveling off and are still at least double the rates seen in other communities in Whatcom County.”
The state Department of Health data Thursday also showed Whatcom County has had 289 hospitalizations during the pandemic, an increase of three from Wednesday’s report.
The state reported that a total of 155,140 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 1,298 tests from Wednesday’s report — meaning 3.7% of all reported tests during the pandemic have come back positive. The state cautioned that negative test results from Nov. 21-30 are incomplete.
Wednesday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, Whatcom County had administered 16,360 vaccinations — an increase of 596 vaccinations from Monday’s report, which was through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30. An average of 520.0 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Jan. 26-Feb. 1, up from the 488.9 seven-day average on Monday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The state estimates that 7.33% of the county (or approximately 16,514 residents) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.72% of the county (or approximately 3,875 residents) are fully vaccinated. The number of vaccines given and people vaccinated may not match, according to the dashboard, because people may be vaccinated in counties other than where they live.
According to the data released Wednesday, Whatcom residents have received approximately 2.1% of the 773,346 total vaccine doses administered in the state — down from 2.2% in Monday’s report — and has administered the 10th-most doses in the state. For comparison, Whatcom County represents 3.0% of the state’s total population and is the state’s ninth-largest county, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Herald on Friday it was treating 21 patients for COVID-19, a decrease of three from Thursday’s report. St. Joseph has banned visitors at the medical center until further notice while COVID-19 remains a public health threat.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data show Friday that since Sept. 15 WWU has completed 19,799 tests and 72 students have tested positive — an increase of one from Wednesday’s report. The college has seen 34 new cases since the school resumed testing following the winter break after seeing 38 cases during the fall quarter.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported in a Facebook post Thursday that it had 24 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 345. The Lummi health department reported it has 91 active cases and one current hospitalization. During the pandemic, 12 community members have been hospitalized, two have died and the health center has conducted 4,086 tests. Positive tests for the last two weeks are at 24.10%. The Lummi Indian Business Council’s Phase 1 Shelter in Place Order is in place until Feb. 23.
Bellingham school sees case
Roosevelt Elementary school saw its first COVID-19 case this school year, according to Bellingham Public School’s COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday, though it was the 13th case the district has seen since in-person learning resumed.
Only one case has been reported at Roosevelt, though it did require one class return to remote learning, according to the dashboard, with an expected return date of Feb. 16.
Roosevelt joins Bellingham’s list of schools that have seen a COVID case, including Birchwood (three cases), Carl Cozier, Geneva, Sunnyland, Wade King, Silver Beach, Alderwood and Lowell elementaries, Fairhaven Middle School and a 12th case at a non-school location. None of the district’s 12 incidents have included more than one reported case.
The district estimates 2,600 students have returned for in-person learning and 900 staff members are working on site.
Ferndale High cases
The Ferndale School District notified parents that two sibling students who had been on Ferndale High School grounds Jan. 28 for an approved school activity tested positive for COVID-19. The two students were asymptomatic at the time, Executive Director for Human Resources John Fairbairn told The Herald in an email.
The district worked with the students and staff who had supervised them and determined there had been no close contacts or exposures and that all safety mitigation protocols had been followed, Fairbairn reported, meaning nobody else had to return to remote learning.
Students began returning on a hybrid learning system at Ferndale High on Monday, Feb. 1.
“Kids are very happy to be back and staff are doing what they are great at and being energized by the students they are serving,” Fairbairn wrote. “Everyone across the organization has worked very, very hard to make this reopening successful.”
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Thursday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3. 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. 12-25 with a rate of 397.7 — a decrease from 406.6 reported Wednesday. Whatcom County has the 10th-highest infection rate in the state, according to Thursday’s data.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people Jan. 11-17 of 450.5. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 310.4, and Whatcom’s average was an increase from the 440.7 reported Wednesday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 Jan. 11-17 with a rate of 7.6% — a decrease from the 7.9% reported Wednesday and the 15th-lowest in the state.
The latest Healthcare System Readiness risk assessment dashboard, updated Thursday evening for data through Wednesday, shows for the North region, which combines Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties:
▪ Occupied beds: 1,080 of the region’s 1,246 adult hospital beds (86.7%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and an increase of 12 occupied beds from data Wednesday.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 82 of the region’s 1,246 adult hospital beds (6.6%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less and a decrease of 14 occupied beds from data Wednesday.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 97 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (71.3%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of one bed being used from data Wednesday.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 22 of the region’s 136 adult ICU beds (16.2%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was a decrease of four beds being used from data Wednesday.
Protest update
No positive COVID-19 cases have been associated with a protest and subsequent clearing of a downtown homeless tent encampment on Jan. 28, 2021, according to Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-agency jurisdiction handling the county’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“At this time, we do not have any evidence that there are cases associated with the protest on Jan. 28,” the agency reported.
On Jan. 28, multiple law enforcement agencies in riot gear and Bellingham public works crews showed up to clear the homeless tent encampment a day before the city’s deadline for the homeless encampment to leave. Protesters, who were mostly dressed in black, used wooden pallets to create barricades to block officials from clearing the encampment, known as Camp 210. The barricade allowed volunteers time to help the residents gather their belongings and leave.
Volunteers helped the encampment move to the Civic Athletic Complex parking lot near Frank Geri Softball Field Thursday, Jan. 28, after the city cleared the camp off the lawns of City Hall at 210 Lottie St. and the Bellingham Public Library at 210 Central Ave. Camp 210, which started in November, was an occupied protest over the lack of shelter available for homeless people. Volunteers estimated that between 90 to 120 people were living there.
The city has announced it will clear the new encampment by 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5.
—Denver Pratt, dpratt@bhamherald.com
WWU fall quarter update
Western Washington University is planning to return to in-person learning for the fall quarter of 2021, according to a letter from WWU President Sabah Randhawa.
“While the prospects for winter and spring quarters are not what any of us would have hoped for, based on current projections from health experts we are again looking forward to welcoming students back to campus for a fall quarter with in-person classes, the return of many more students to our university residences, and the resumption of more normal in-person services and activities,” Randhawa wrote. “This, of course, depends on the effective distribution of vaccines and on each of us continuing to follow health guidance, including wearing masks and avoiding gatherings.”
Since last spring, Western has moved the majority of its coursework online in response to the pandemic. Spring and summer quarters will continue to be primarily remote.
“As has been the case throughout the pandemic, our decisions are guided first and foremost by the health and safety of our community, and by discussions with faculty, staff and student leaders, our incident command structure experts, and public health experts,” Randhawa’s letter read.
Vaccine provider update
There are a total of 34 providers in Whatcom County that have received authorization from the Washington State Department of Health to provide the COVID-19 vaccine.
But there are just six listed on the state website that lists locations of vaccine providers as of Thursday, Feb. 4.
Why the discrepancy?
Vaccine providers submit information directly to the state Department of Health to say whether they do or don’t want to be listed on the online map of enrolled providers, “and that is why the number of providers offering the COVID-19 is greater than the number listed on DOH’s website,” said Cindy Hollinsworth, Communicable Disease and Epidemiology manager at the Whatcom County Health Department.
The Herald asked the state Department of Health and the Whatcom County Health Department for the list of enrolled vaccine providers. Readers, who have been frustrated in their efforts to book a vaccine appointment amid an ongoing shortage, also wanted to know who the providers were.
No response has come from the state but Hollinsworth said the county will not provide the list.
“We are not able to share this list as a condition of us receiving the information from DOH, and because we respect the decision made by each individual provider to share or not share their information through the system DOH has created,” she explained in an email to The Herald.
“Some providers have specifically asked us not to share, as they are not equipped to handle the volume of calls that could come in, or have alternative methods and systems to communicate about their vaccination efforts,” she said.
—Kie Relyea, krelyea@bhamherald.com
Masking up
For the second time during the pandemic, the Whatcom County Chambers of Commerce have partnered with Whatcom Unified Command to distribute 100,000 disposable masks to county businesses.
The two first paired up during the early stages of the pandemic last spring.
If your business would like a supply of masks at no charge for distribution to your customers and/or employees, please:
▪ In Bellingham: Call 360-734-1330 or email liz@bellingham.com.
▪ In Ferndale: Email info@ferndale-chamber.com.
▪ In Birch Bay: Email info@birchbaychamber.com.
▪ In Blaine: Call 360-201-8471 or email info@blainechamber.com.
▪ In Lynden: Email masks@lynden.org.
▪ In Mount Baker foothills: Call 360-599-1518 or email info@mtbakerchamber.org.
▪ In Sumas: Contact Sumas City Hall at 360-988-5711.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday morning:
▪ The U.S. has more than 26.6 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 455,000 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 105.0 million reported cases and 2.2 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Thursday evening:
▪ 302,782 confirmed cases, an increase of 1,410 from reported cases on Wednesday.
▪ 15,096 probable cases, an increase of 174 from Wednesday’s data.
▪ 18,071 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 84 from data Wednesday.
▪ 4,670,815 total molecular tests, an increase of 24,987 from Wednesday’s data.
▪ 4,416 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of 28 deaths from Wednesday’s data. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died.
According to the state’s latest vaccination report, which is updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:
▪ 773,346 vaccinations had been given through Monday, an increase of 44,710.
▪ The state has averaged administering 27,902 doses of vaccines the past seven days — almost two-thirds of the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000, but a decrease from the average 28,115 reported Monday.
▪ The state estimates that 8.33% of the state’s residents have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.87% percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
▪ Approximately 1,028,000 doses have been delivered to Washington state providers (an increase of approximately 132,000 from Monday’s report) and 132,600 doses have been delivered for the CDC’s long-term care program (unchanged from Monday’s report).
▪ Of the approximately 1,160,600 doses delivered, 66.62% have been given.
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.
