Whatcom County sees 27 new COVID-19 cases, state reports Saturday

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County climbed by 27, the Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard reported on Saturday, Feb. 6. Deaths are not reported on the weekend.

Overall, Whatcom County has seen 5,884 confirmed cases and 69 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5, meaning 1.2% of all COVID cases in Whatcom County have been linked to a death.

Fifty-nine additional probable cases — an decrease of 2 from Friday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.

The state cautioned that Saturday data may include up to 1,000 duplicate cases statewide due to an interruption of data processing on Friday.

The state Department of Health data Saturday also showed Whatcom County has had 297 hospitalizations during the pandemic, an increase of three from Friday’s report.

The state reported that a total of 157,140 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — an increase of 884 tests from Friday’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.

Friday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, Whatcom County had administered 17,066 vaccinations — an increase of 706 vaccinations from Wednesday’s report, which was through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3. An average of 377.0 Whatcom County residents per day received a vaccination dose from Jan. 28-Feb. 3, down from the 520.0 seven-day average on Wednesday. Vaccination data is released Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The state estimates that 7.94% of the county (or approximately 17,889 residents) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 1.88% of the county (or approximately 4,236 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 Friday, Whatcom residents have received approximately 2.0% of the 833,935 total vaccine doses administered in the state — down from 2.1% in Wednesday’s report — and has administered the 11th-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 Saturday it was treating 21 patients for COVID-19, no change from Friday’s report. St. Joseph has banned visitors at the medical center until further notice while COVID-19 remains a public health threat.

The Lummi Tribal Health Center reported in a Facebook post Saturday that it had 10 new confirmed cases Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the Lummi community during the pandemic to 355. 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 4,151 tests. Positive tests for the last two weeks are at 24.18%. The Lummi Indian Business Council’s Phase 1 Shelter in Place Order is in place until Feb. 23.

Long-term care update

Along with the rest of Whatcom County’s case rates, the pace of new COVID cases in Whatcom County’s long-term facilities picked up in January, according to the latest Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.

According to the report, which was released Tuesday, Feb. 2 and reflected data through Monday, Feb. 1, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 305 confirmed cases during the pandemic. That marks an increase of 34 cases since the previous report, which included data through Jan. 4 — a 12.5% growth.

The number of COVID-related deaths in long-term care facilities was increased by two from the last report to 40, according to the state’s data.

The 305 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 5.4% of the 5,610 overall cases reported in Whatcom County on Feb. 1 — down from 7.1% on Jan. 4— while the 40 related deaths represent 61.5% of the county’s death total (65) on Feb. 1.

Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 17,474 cases (5.8% of the state’s total cases) and 2,190 related deaths (50.7% of the state’s death total), the report showed. Since Jan. 4, the state’s long-term care facilities saw increases of 26.0% in the number of cases (3,604 cases) and 24.1% in the number of deaths (425 deaths).

Whatcom’s risk assessment

The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4. 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. 13-26 with a rate of 379.1 — a decrease from 397.7 reported Thursday. Whatcom County has the 11th-highest infection rate in the state, according to Friday’s data.

▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people Jan. 12-18 of 421.5. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 290.7, and Whatcom’s average was a decrease from the 450.5 reported Thursday.

▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 Jan. 12-18 with a rate of 6.9% — a decrease from the 7.6% reported Thursday and the 11th-lowest in the state.

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: 1,074 of the region’s 1,247 adult hospital beds (86.1%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and a decrease of six occupied beds from data Thursday.

▪ COVID occupied beds: 84 of the region’s 1,247 adult hospital beds (6.7%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less and an increase of two occupied beds from data Thursday.

▪ Occupied ICU beds: 91 of the region’s 137 adult ICU beds (66.4%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was a decrease of six beds being used from data Thursday.

▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 28 of the region’s 137 adult ICU beds (20.4%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it was an increase of six beds being used from data Thursday.

Bellingham schools plan return

Bellingham Public Schools has set a tentative plan for remaining students in elementary school and all grades in middle school to return for some in-person learning by the first week in March, according to a letter from Superintendent Greg Baker.

“Whenever we announce plans, we ask for understanding that things could change based on guidance from local and state health officials,” Baker wrote. “We also know that our staff, students and families are asking for dates to help them prepare.”

Third graders will return to school buildings for in-person learning Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays beginning Feb. 18. Fourth- and fifth-graders will follow a hybrid schedule beginning Feb. 25.

Middle schools will also follow a hybrid model, with sixth-graders returning Feb. 18, seventh-graders Feb. 25 and eighth-graders March 4.

“We continue to evaluate high school and will have more information soon,” Baker wrote.

Numbers elsewhere

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

▪ The U.S. has more than 26.9 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 461,892 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 105.7 million reported cases and 2.3 million deaths.

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

▪ 304,382 confirmed cases, an increase of 421 from reported cases on Friday.

▪ 15,764 probable cases, an increase of 354 from Friday’s data.

▪ 18,283 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 127 from data Friday.

▪ 4,716,859 total molecular tests, an increase of 22,209 from Friday’s data.

▪ 4,449 deaths related to COVID-19. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died. Deaths are not reported on the weekend.

According to the state’s latest vaccination report, which is updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:

▪ 833,935 vaccinations had been given through Monday, an increase of 60,589.

▪ The state has averaged administering 26,269 doses of vaccines the past seven days — more than half of the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000, but a decrease from the average 27,902 reported Wednesday.

▪ The state estimates that 8.87% of the state’s residents have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2.12% percent of residents are fully vaccinated.

▪ Approximately 1,021,475 doses have been delivered to Washington state providers (a decrease of 6,525 from Wednesday’s report) and 133,575 doses have been delivered for the CDC’s long-term care program (an increase of 975 from Wednesday’s report).

▪ Of the approximately 1,160,600 doses delivered, 72.20% 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.

This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.