Whatcom sees 17 new confirmed COVID cases Friday, Bellingham schools report incident
Whatcom County saw 17 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Friday, March 26, but no new deaths were reported.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,195 confirmed cases and 87 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 254. An additional 222 probable cases — an increase of one 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 7,399 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.5% average of total cases.
The 17 new confirmed cases reported Friday mean Whatcom County has had 3,723 cases — 51.7% of its pandemic total — reported during the first 85 days of 2021 (an average of 43.8 cases per day). The county’s daily average of newly reported cases the past seven days dropped to 16.4 per day.
The state Department of Health data Friday showed Whatcom County has had 333 hospitalizations during the pandemic, up one from Thursday’s report.
The state also reported that a total of 201,194 molecular tests have been administered in Whatcom County during the pandemic — down 1,359 tests from Thursday’s report — meaning 3.57% 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 eight patients for COVID-19, up one from Thursday’s report.
Whatcom vaccination update
Wednesday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, Whatcom County had administered 74,206 vaccinations — up 6.384% (4,456 vaccinations) from Wednesday’s report, which was for data through Monday.
▪ The state estimates 26.38% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — ahead of the statewide average of 25.74%. The state reports 14.64% in Whatcom County have initiated a vaccine.
Bellingham schools report case
One new COVID-19 incident was reported by Bellingham Public Schools on its dashboard on Friday. The incident involved two confirmed cases this week at Parkview Elementary and required one class return to remote learning with an expected return date of April 12.
The district now has had 28 incidents and 31 reported cases since it began returning to in-person learning. Bellingham’s list of schools that have seen COVID cases includes: Birchwood (three cases), Sunnyland (five cases in three incidents), Alderwood (four cases), Carl Cozier (three cases), Northern Heights (two cases), Geneva (two cases), Roosevelt, Wade King, Silver Beach, Lowell, Cordata and Parkview elementaries, Fairhaven and Kulshan middle school, Sehome High School and a case at a non-school location.
The district estimates 9,190 students have returned for in-person learning and 1,600 staff members are working on site.
Testing hours changed
Hours that COVID testing will be available at the site run by the Whatcom County Health Department and Whatcom Unified Command at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden will be changing beginning Friday, April 2.
The new hours, according to a news release, will be:
▪ Mondays and Wednesdays: 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
▪ Tuesdays and Fridays: 8:30 a.m. to noon.
▪ No testing will be available on Saturdays, Sundays or Thursdays.
The changes were made to accommodate the changing resource needs for testing and vaccination and come as use of the Lynden testing site has declined.
The testing site at Bellingham International Airport will continue to operate from noon to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
Commemoration event
Village Books will host a virtual Commemoration of COVID-19 Loss and Resilience, to reflect on the impacts of COVID-19 on the Bellingham community at 4 p.m. April 18.
The event will feature readings by local writers from Red Wheelbarrow Writers and Writers on the Wall, and attendees will be invited to submit names for dedication by email and light a candle in memory of those honored.
Registration for the online event is through Village Books Events
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
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 March 3-16 with a rate of 167.3 — down from 170.9 reported Thursday.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 2-8 of 305.2. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 219.8, but Whatcom’s average was down from the 308.5 reported Thursday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 2-8 with a rate of 3.8% — no change from the 3.8% 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: 1,030 of the region’s 1,263 adult hospital beds (81.6%) were occupied, missing the state’s goal of 80% or less and up one from data Thursday.
▪ COVID occupied beds: 32 of the region’s 1,263 adult hospital beds (2.5%) were occupied by COVID patients, making the state’s goal of 10% or less but up one occupied bed from Thursday.
▪ Occupied ICU beds: 94 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (67.6%) were occupied. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it’s down one bed in use from data Thursday.
▪ COVID occupied ICU beds: 11 of the region’s 139 adult ICU beds (7.9%) were occupied by COVID patients. The state does not have a goal for this metric, but it’s down three occupied beds from data Thursday.
State vaccine allocation
The Washington State Department of Health announced that it is expecting a substantial increase in vaccine doses from the federal government next week.
According to a news release Friday, the state is expecting:
▪ 408,730 doses the week of March 28: 238,050 first doses and 170,680 second doses, including 221,130 doses of Pfizer, 144,800 doses of Moderna and 42,800 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
▪ 343,700 doses the week of April 4: 173,020 first doses and 170,680 second doses, including 198,900 doses of Pfizer and 144,800 doses of Moderna.
▪ 368,270 doses the week of April 11: 173,020 first doses and 195,250 second doses, including 223,470 doses of Pfizer and 144,800 doses of Moderna.
Though allocation numbers can still change and have increased in recent weeks, the state’s allocation remains below what providers in the state are asking. This week, providers requested 489,690 doses.
But, the increase is welcome, especially as the state is set to open up Phase 1B tiers 3 and 4 on Wednesday, March 31, adding approximately 2 million Washington residents to the list of those eligible to receive the vaccine. Added to the list will be people 16 years or older with two or more co-morbidities or underlying conditions, people age 60 and older, people, staff and volunteers in certain congregate living settings, and high-risk critical workers in certain congregate settings.
State situation report
The Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 statewide situation report released Friday shows that the decline from the post-holiday surge has slowed.
“I am increasingly concerned about the signs we’re seeing in our data. Previous declines have stopped, and disease activity may be increasing,” Acting State Health Officer Dr. Scott Lindquist said in the news release. “We all need to recognize that the pandemic is not over and significant risk remains, even as we vaccinate more and more people. We need to limit the spread of the virus by actively making good choices in our communities, including wearing masks, keeping our distance, avoiding gatherings and delaying travel.”
The estimated statewide COVID-19 reproductive rate — the rate that shows how many new cases are likely caused by each diagnosed case — was 1.28 as of March 5, meaning the number of new cases is growing, according to the release.
On top of that, case counts have stopped declining and have flattened at a relatively high level of approximately 654 new cases per day, as of March 11. Twenty-three of the state’s 39 counties had two-week infection rates lower than 100 through March 11, while 13 counties, including Whatcom, had case rates between 100 and 200.
On the positive side, according to the release, cases are declining among people 60 and older — a sign that vaccination efforts are working — and hospitalization rates have declined since early January.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 30.15 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 548,052 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 126.01 million reported cases and 2.76 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday evening:
▪ 337,475 confirmed cases, an increase of 928 from reported cases on Thursday.
▪ 22,191 probable cases, an increase of 132 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 20,286 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 47 from data Thursday.
▪ 5,802,332 total molecular tests, up 24,403 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 5,218 deaths related to COVID-19, up five 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:
▪ 3,012,719 vaccinations had been given as of Wednesday, March 24, an increase of 130,524 from the previous report (4.52%).
▪ The state has averaged administering 48,455 doses of vaccines the past seven days — more than the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000, and up from the average 45,841 reported Wednesday.
▪ The state estimated that 25.74% of the state’s residents have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14.84% percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
Washington state actions
All counties moved to Phase 3 on Monday. On March 11, Inslee announced that the Roadmap to Recovery plan would transition from the regional approach back to a county-by-county evaluation process.
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 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
