Whatcom County sees 37 new COVID cases Monday, still within state’s Phase 3 goals
Whatcom County saw 37 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Monday, April 5.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,410 confirmed cases and 88 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, April 4. An additional 245 probable cases — down one from Saturday’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 1.1% of Whatcom’s 7,655 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.4% average of total cases.
The county’s daily average of newly reported cases the past seven days increased to 22.0 per day.
Whatcom County is currently in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan. To remain in Phase 3, Whatcom must make two goals set by the state on the next data evaluation date scheduled for April 12:
▪ The county must have fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents in a two-week period. Whatcom’s infection rate was 136.7 between March 13 and 26, according to the latest update of state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Monday, meaning Whatcom is currently making the first goal.
▪ The county must also have fewer than five new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents per seven days. Whatcom had eight COVID-related hospitalizations (or 3.55 per 100,000 residents) from March 11-17 — the most recent complete data on the state’s epidemiological curves — meaning Whatcom is currently making the second goal, according to an analysis by The Bellingham Herald.
Other Whatcom data
▪ 338 total hospitalizations during the pandemic according to the state dashboard, down one from Saturday’s report.
▪ 210,792 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, up 1,448 from Saturday’s report.
▪ One patient was being treated for COVID-19 at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham on Tuesday, according to the hospital, down two from Monday.
▪ Monday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 2, Whatcom County had administered 93,753 doses. The state estimates 31.32% of Whatcom County residents (70,470 people) have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine and 20.10% of Whatcom County residents (45,225 people) are fully vaccinated.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Monday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday. It showed:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents March 13-26 with a rate of 136.7 — down from 141.6 on Friday and the 15th-highest infection rate in the state.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 12-18 of 308.5. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 222.0 and Whatcom’s average was up from the 297.1 reported Friday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 12-18 with a rate of 2.4% — down from the 3.4% reported Friday and the 15th-highest rate in the state.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Saturday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 30.77 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 555,381 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 131.66 million reported cases and 2.85 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Monday evening:
▪ 345,904 confirmed cases, up 1,388 from reported cases Sunday.
▪ 24,113 probable cases, up 226 from Sunday’s data.
▪ 20,781 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 94 from data Sunday.
▪ 6,020,417 total molecular tests, up 43,744 from Sunday’s data.
▪ 5,285 deaths related to COVID-19. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died.
According to the state’s latest vaccination report:
▪ 3,722,703 vaccinations had been given as of Friday, April 2, an increase of 251,360 from the previous report.
▪ The state has averaged administering 59,600 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 57,321 reported Friday.
▪ The state estimated that 30.77% of the state’s residents (2,278,244 people) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 19.49% percent of residents (1,443,060 people) are fully vaccinated.
▪ 83.13% of the 4,477,920 doses that have been distributed to Washington state providers and long-term care centers have been administered.
This story was originally published April 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
