While two Whatcom regions see dramatic drops in COVID rates, three others see increases
For the first time in six weeks, none of Whatcom County’s seven school district regions had a COVID-19 infection rate lower than 100, but on the positive side, none of the regions had rates higher than 200 for the first time since before Thanksgiving.
Though four regions saw their number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks decrease from last week’s numbers — including significant drops for the county’s two highest regions — three others saw increases, according to released Tuesday by the Whatcom County Health Department.
The net result was all seven regions had infection rates between 108 and 167, meaning COVID is spreading fairly evenly throughout the county. It marked the first time March 2 none of the seven regions had a rate below 100 and the first time since the Nov. 17 report that no region was higher than 200.
The Nooksack Valley and Lynden regions, which had owned the highest infection rates since early December, each saw decreases of at least 70 last week, while the Bellingham and Mount Baker regions saw more modest declines. But the Blaine and Meridian regions each had increases of more than 50, and the Meridian region now owns the county’s highest rate.
The county health department releases weekly data on the location of COVID-19 cases using school districts as geographical boundaries, including each region’s number of total cases during the pandemic and their infection rates. Data in the Tuesday, April 13, report was through Saturday, April 11, and the infection rates reflect cases between March 28 and April 10.
Overall, Whatcom County saw a 1.7% growth in cases (128 cases) between April 4 and 10 — down from the 2.3% growth and 163 new cases the county reported the previous week.
With 291 cases the past two weeks, Whatcom County has an overall infection rate of 129.3, based on 225,300 residents in the county. Four 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: Up 2.3% (61 cases) since the April 6 report to 2,722 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 131 last week to 122 this week. The region had 79 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Blaine: Up 3.0% (13 cases) since the April 6 report to 450 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 51 last week to 108 this week. The region had six new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Ferndale: Up 2.1% (31 cases) since the April 6 report to 1,494 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 105 last week to 126 this week. The region had 14 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Lynden: Up 0.7% (nine cases) since the April 6 report to 1,256 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 208 last week to 138 this week. The region had 20 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Meridian: Up 1.8% (seven cases) since the April 6 report to 399 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 111 last week to 167 this week. The region had 11 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Mount Baker: Up 1.9% (eight cases) since the April 6 report to 419 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 152 last week to 139 this week. The region had 15 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
Nooksack Valley: Down 0.1% (one case) since the April 6 report to 724 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 253 last week to 136 this week. The region had 18 new cases between March 28 and April 3.
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
