Whatcom sees new COVID case number Friday not reliably seen since November
CORRECTION: The number of positive COVID-19 cases at Western Washington University was corrected March 21, 2021.
Whatcom County had 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard on Friday, March 19, and no new related deaths. It’s the first time case numbers were reliably in the teens since November 2020.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,067 confirmed cases and 86 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 18. An additional 194 probable cases — an increase of five from Thursday’s report — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
That means that 1.2% of Whatcom’s 7,261 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.5% average of total cases.
The state Department of Health data Friday showed Whatcom County has had 328 hospitalizations during the pandemic, which is up two from Thursday’s report.
The state also reported that a total of 193,640 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — down 1,415 tests from Thursday’s report — meaning 3.64% of all reported tests in the county during the pandemic have come back positive. The state cautioned that negative test results from Nov. 21-30 remain incomplete.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham, which is licensed and staffed for 241 beds, reported to The Herald on Friday morning it was treating seven patients for COVID-19, up two from the five it reported Thursday.
Western Washington University’s most recent on-campus student COVID testing data showed Friday that since Sept. 15 WWU has completed 26,902 tests and 83 students have tested positive — up three from Thursday’s report. The college has seen 45 new cases since the school resumed testing following the winter break after seeing 38 cases during the fall quarter.
Friday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, Whatcom County had administered 61,486 vaccinations — an increase of 2,909 vaccinations (up 4.96%) from Wednesday’s report, which was for data through Monday, March 15.
▪ The state estimates 22.80% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine, ahead of the statewide average of 22.29%.
▪ The state estimates that 11.60% of Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated, behind the statewide average of 12.94%.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. 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 Feb. 24-March 9 with a rate of 184.6 — drown from 188.1 reported Thursday.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people Feb. 22-March 1 of 303.5. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 228.9, and Whatcom’s average was down from the 309.3 reported Thursday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 Feb. 23-March 1 with a rate of 4.2% — no change from 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: 1,036 of the region’s 1,251 adult hospital beds (82.8%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and up 13 occupied beds from data Thursday.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 40 of the region’s 1,251 adult hospital beds (3.2%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less and unchanged from occupied beds on Thursday.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 97 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (69.8%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it’s up four beds in use from data Thursday.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 14 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (10.1%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it’s the same from data Thursday.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 29.72 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 541,036 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 122.23 million reported cases and 2.7 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Thursday evening:
▪ 332,549 confirmed cases, an increase of 729 from reported cases on Thursday.
▪ 21,243 probable cases, an increase of 156 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 20,041 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 42 from data Thursday.
▪ 5,651,370 total molecular tests, an increase of 20,568 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 5,174 deaths related to COVID-19, an increase of six from Thursday’s data. That means 1.5% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died.
Statewide, according to the state’s latest vaccination report, which is updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:
▪ 2,621,510 vaccinations had been given as of Wednesday, March 17, an increase of 104,004 from the previous report (4.13%).
▪ The state has averaged administering 43,737 doses of vaccines the past seven days — a little under the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000, and up from the average 44,165 reported Wednesday.
▪ The state estimated that 22.29% of the state’s residents have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 12.94% percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
▪ 3,030,130 doses have been delivered to Washington state providers (an increase of 50,810 from Wednesday’s report) and 186,030 doses have been delivered for the CDC’s long-term care program (unchanged from Wednesday’s report).
▪ Of the 3,216,160 doses delivered, 81.51% have been given, according to Friday’s report.
Washington state actions
On Thursday Inslee announced that the Roadmap to Recovery plan would transition from the regional approach back to a county-by-county evaluation process and that all counties will begin in Phase 3 effective Monday, March 22.
In Phase 3, outdoor professional sports can welcome back fans at 25% capacity, according to Inslee’s office, while capacity for indoor activities such as dining at restaurants, attending worship services and shopping at retail stores will double to 50% occupancy.
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 restrictions in Phase 2 will be in some way expanded in Phase 3, according to Inslee’s office. That includes restaurants, gyms, retail, movie theaters, and professional and personal services.
Up to 50% occupancy or 400 people, whichever is lower, will be allowed for indoor activities that were allowed in Phase 2.
Up to 400 people will be allowed for outdoor activities and indoor events with physical distancing and masking in place, according to the governor’s office, as long as that count doesn’t exceed 50 percent capacity. Events at bigger venues will have different guidelines: 25% occupancy or up to 9,000 people.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
