Whatcom vaccine doses double this week; county sees six new COVID cases Tuesday
Whatcom County saw six new confirmed COVID-19 cases and no related deaths on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Tuesday, April 6.
It’s the first time since Jan. 19, and reliably from mid-November 2020, that new cases are in single digits.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,416 confirmed cases and 88 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 5. An additional 249 probable cases — up four from Monday’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 7,665 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 decreased to 19.9, down from 22 per day on Monday.
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 140.3 between March 14 and 27, according to the latest update of state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Tuesday, 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 13-19 — 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, no change from Monday’s report.
▪ 212,046 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, up 1,254 from Monday’s report.
▪ One patient was being treated for COVID-19 at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham on Wednesday, according to the hospital, the same number as Tuesday.
▪ 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.
The Whatcom County Health Department notes on its website Tuesday that it recently learned that the vaccination data reported on the state dashboard does not include data from tribal health providers in Whatcom County, which receive COVID-19 vaccines directly from the federal government.
“As a result, the data we report underestimates the number of people who have received one or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Whatcom vaccine doses double
Whatcom County providers expect to receive 6,840 first doses and 3,140 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week, the Whatcom County Health Department reported on Tuesday.
The total first doses include 1,000 allocated to federally qualified health centers, which are Unity Care NW and Sea Mar Community Health Centers. The other 5,840 first doses came through the state Department of Health.
The total doesn’t include vaccine doses that the federal government sends directly to retail pharmacies, including in Whatcom County.
That report usually lags by about a week.
Recently released numbers show that the federal government sent 4,140 doses to pharmacies in Whatcom County for the week of March 29.
— Kie Relyea, krelyea@bhamherald.com
Aquatic center increases offerings
The Arne Hanna Aquatic Center will open up to more activities starting Monday, April 12, the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department announced on Tuesday.
The Parks Department said what that means will include:
▪ People can register for up to five activities a week.
▪ Two swimmers will be allowed in each lane for lap swims.
▪ Up to 12 people will be allowed in each water aerobics class.
▪ Preschool/family swim will allow up to two households, with a maximum of six participants from the same household per time slot.
▪ Pool rentals will return and allow up to 50 participants, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
▪ Sessions will last 45 minutes. Registration for the following week, which starts on a Monday, will open at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays for pass holders.
Details: 360-778-7665, aquatics@cob.org, or cob.org/ahac.
— Kie Relyea, krelyea@bhamherald.com
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Tuesday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Monday. It showed:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents March 14-27 with a rate of 140.3 — up from 136.7 on Monday and the 14th-highest infection rate in the state.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 13-19 of 309.7. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 221.6 and Whatcom’s average was up from the 308.5 reported Monday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 13-19 with a rate of 2.4% — same as reported Monday and the 14th-highest rate in the state.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Tuesday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 30.84 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 556,428 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 132.22 million reported cases and 2.87 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Tuesday evening:
▪ 346,420 confirmed cases, up 516 from reported cases Monday.
▪ 24,232 probable cases, up 119 from Monday’s data.
▪ 20,819 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 38 from data Monday.
▪ 6,042,887 total molecular tests, up 22,470 from Monday’s data.
▪ 5,299 deaths related to COVID-19, up 14 from Monday’s data. 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 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
