Whatcom sees 30 new COVID-19 cases Friday, WWU changes phases to open up more
Whatcom County saw 30 more confirmed COVID-19 cases but no new related deaths reported on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Friday, April 16.
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,671 confirmed cases and 89 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 15. An additional 284 probable cases — up four 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 1.1% of Whatcom’s 7,921 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.4% average of total cases.
Whatcom County’s daily average of newly reported cases the past seven days is 25.3, up from 24.4 on Thursday.
Whatcom County is currently in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery plan. On Monday, Inslee announced Whatcom will remain in Phase 3 for at least the next three weeks, though Cowlitz, Pierce and Whitman counties slid back to Phase 2 beginning Friday, April 16.
To remain in Phase 3, Whatcom must make at least one of two goals set by the state on the next data evaluation date scheduled for May 3:
▪ The county must have fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents in a two-week period. Whatcom’s infection rate was 146.9 between March 26 and April 8, according to the latest update of state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard on Friday, meaning Whatcom is currently making the first goal. Whatcom County’s rate during the last evaluation period (March 20 to April 2) was 154.8.
▪ The county must also have fewer than five new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents per seven days. Whatcom had five COVID-related hospitalizations (or 2.2 per 100,000 residents) from March 29 through April 4, according to the state’s epidemiological curves. That means Whatcom is currently making the second goal, according to data analysis by The Bellingham Herald. Whatcom County’s rate during the last evaluation period (March 24-30) was 1.3.
Whatcom vaccination update
Friday’s vaccination report said that as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, Whatcom County had administered 114,273 — up 5.44% (5,904 vaccinations) from Wednesday’s report, which was for data through Monday.
Vaccination data is updated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Here is what data analysis of the latest numbers by The Bellingham Herald showed:
▪ Whatcom County — the ninth most populated county in Washington state with approximately 3% of the state’s total population, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates — has administered the 10th most doses of the 39 counties in the state.
▪ The state estimates 37.20% of Whatcom County residents have initiated a COVID-19 vaccine — the eighth-highest in the state, and ahead of the statewide average of 35.90%. The state reports 84,817 people in Whatcom County have initiated vaccination — the eighth-highest in the state and an increase of 3,949 from Wednesday’s report. The number of people vaccinated and the number of vaccinations administered may differ due to Whatcom County residents traveling elsewhere to receive vaccine doses.
▪ The state estimates that 24.85% of Whatcom County residents are fully vaccinated — the eighth-highest in the state, and ahead of the statewide average of 23.91%. The state reports 56,666 people in Whatcom County are fully vaccinated — 14th-highest in the state and an increase of 3,080 from Wednesday’s report.
▪ Based on 2019 five-year population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Whatcom County has administered 0.52 doses of vaccine per resident — behind the overall state average of 0.60 doses per person.
Other Whatcom data
▪ 346 total hospitalizations during the pandemic according to the state dashboard, up two from Thursday’s report.
▪ 219,077 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, up 2,258 from Thursday’s report.
▪ Six patients were being treated for COVID-19 at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham on Saturday, April 17, according to the hospital, no change from Friday.
Whatcom County testing update
As Whatcom’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has dropped dramatically since January, so has the number of Whatcom County residents being tested.
During the first 27 days of March (the only days where data is complete on the state’s COVID dashboard), 18,327 people have been tested, which figures out to 678.8 per day.
That’s 28.2% lower than the county saw during the month of January, when testing and cases were at their highest due to a post-holiday surge. During January, 29,311 tests were performed — an average of 945.5 per day.
Though testing levels have gone down, the Whatcom County Health Department isn’t concerned.
“While the number of people getting tested each day is down, our test positivity rate has steadily been at about 5-6% since mid-January even as cases have declined in the recent months,” the health department told The Bellingham Herald in an email. “Seeing that steady positivity rate tells us that our case rate is consistent in indicating the number of folks with COVID-19 in our county. So despite fewer tests being performed, we believe that we are getting good data for our county for our COVID-19 disease surveillance.”
In fact, test positivity rates have even gone down despite fewer tests.
In January, 2,204 of the 29,311 tests came back positive — a 6.9% positivity rate. During the first 27 days of March, that rate is 3.3% — 602 positives out of 18,327 tests.
Whatcom’s risk assessment
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. It showed:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents March 25 through April 7 with a rate of 146.9 — up from 143.4 on Thursday and the 17th-highest infection rate among the 39 counties in the state.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 molecular testing rate per 100,000 people March 23-29 of 279.4. No goal was stated for this metric, however, Whatcom’s average was up from the 278.0 reported Thursday and the second-worst in the state.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 2.0% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 March 23-29 with a rate of 3.3% — down from 3.4% on Thursday and the 29th-highest rate in the state.
DVD drive update
Last month Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Health Deputy Jerilyn Klix spearheaded an effort by Whatcom County first responders to collect new and used DVDs to give to area residents in long-term care facilities who have been locked down for a year during the pandemic.
Their efforts resulted in more than 3,000 DVDs being collected, disinfected and distributed to area long-term care facilities, according to a sheriff’s office Facebook post Thursday.
“It was a huge success!” Klix told The Bellingham Herald in an email, adding that it was way more than she expected. “While the gesture may seem small, I hope those living and working in these facilities and homes feel our community’s support.”
WWU operations reopen
Though many students continue to learn remotely, Western Washington University is planning to operate at more normal levels on campus, according to a campus advisory sent out Thursday, which said the school moved to Operating Level 3 of its Safe Start Western plan on Wednesday, April 14.
“While this shift will not alter planned academic offerings or most day-to-day operations for Spring Quarter, it will allow for increased activity amongst employees and students on campus, including the gradual resumption (with proper safety precautions) of some business meetings, work groups, student activities and events, and increased visitor activity related to institutional operations,” the advisory stated.
With increased vaccination rates and lower case rates in the area, the advisory said the school hopes to transition to Operation Level 4 during the spring.
To help the staff, and faculty better understand the moves, the school is holding the second of two virtual Gatherings Guidance Questions/Feedback sessions from 3-4 p.m. Tuesday, April 20.
Numbers elsewhere
New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday night:
▪ The U.S. has more than 31.57 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 566,211 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 139.66 million reported cases and 2.99 million deaths.
Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Friday evening:
▪ 357,122 confirmed cases, up 1,535 from reported cases Thursday.
▪ 26,772 probable cases, up 434 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 21,368 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 76 from data Thursday.
▪ 6,234,052 total molecular tests, up 23,970 from Thursday’s data.
▪ 5,380 deaths related to COVID-19, up 18 from data reported Thursday. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died.
According to the state’s latest vaccination report on Friday:
▪ 4,431,804 vaccinations had been given as of Wednesday, April 14, an increase of 132,453 from the previous report.
▪ The state has averaged administering 57,532 doses of vaccines the past seven days — more than the Department of Health’s stated daily goal of 45,000 but down from the average 62,306 reported Wednesday.
▪ The state estimated that 34.97 % of the state’s residents (2,677,748 people) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 23.06% percent of residents (1,765245 people) are fully vaccinated.
▪ The state estimated that 35.90% of the state’s residents (2,748,811 people) have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 23.91% of residents (1,830,811 people) are fully vaccinated.
▪ 83.16% of the 5,328,970 doses that have been distributed to Washington state providers and long-term care centers have been administered.
This story was originally published April 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
