All seven Whatcom regions see COVID infection rates decrease, but one remains above 300
For the second straight week, all seven school district regions within Whatcom County saw their COVID-19 infection rates shrink to their lowest marks of the year, according to new data released Tuesday by the Whatcom County Health Department.
The two-week infection rates in three regions in the county — Meridian, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley — dropped by more than 20%.
Lynden had its rate drop by nearly 12%, while the Bellingham, Blaine and Ferndale regions saw more moderate decreases in rates, as all seven regions saw decreases for the fourth time in the past six weeks.
Despite all those decreases, only three regions — Bellingham, Blaine and Mount Baker — have seen fewer than than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, and Lynden still remains above 300.
The county health department releases weekly data on the location of COVID-19 cases using school districts as geographical boundaries. Infection rates in Tuesday’s report are based on data between March 7 and 20.
Previously, the health department released the total number of cases within each district along with infection rates, but case counts were not included in Tuesday’s data release. The Bellingham Herald was able to estimate the number of cases in each district, though, based on the infection rates, data in previous reports and the 2019 five-year population estimates for each school district from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Overall, The Herald estimates the county saw a 2.3% growth in cases (160 cases) since the last data released on March 16 — up from the 1.6% growth and 106 new cases the county reported the previous week.
With 266 cases the past two weeks, according to The Herald’s estimates, Whatcom County has an overall infection rate of 118.1, based on 225,300 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: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 78 in the March 16 report to 76 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 110,951 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.1% last week (50 cases) to a pandemic total of 2,502.
Blaine: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 85 in the March 16 report to 80 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 17,713 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.4% last week (10 cases) to a pandemic total of 427.
Ferndale: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 194 in the March 16 report to 188 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 33,711 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.8% last week (38 cases) to a pandemic total of 1,421.
Lynden: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 341 in the March 16 report to 201 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 20,730 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.7% last week (31 cases) to a pandemic total of 1,202.
Meridian: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 139 in the March 16 report to 111 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 11,799 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.2% last week (eight cases) to a pandemic total of 381.
Mount Baker: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 95 in the March 16 report to 51 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 15,062 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 1.5% last week (six cases) to a pandemic total of 387.
Nooksack Valley: The 14-day infection rate decreased from 244 in the March 16 report to 190 on Tuesday, according to the county data. Based on that rate and 10,825 residents in the district, according to 2019 U.S. Census five-year estimates, The Herald estimates the case count increased by 2.3% last week (16 cases) to a pandemic total of 695.
