Whatcom sees 52 new COVID-19 cases Saturday

Whatcom County saw 52 more confirmed COVID-19 cases reported on the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard Saturday, April 17. Deaths are not reported on weekends.

Overall, Whatcom County has seen 7,723 confirmed cases and 89 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 16. An additional 295 probable cases — up 11 from Friday’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 8,018 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 26.7, up from 25.3 on Friday.

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, no change from Friday’s report.

▪ 217,357 molecular tests administered, according to the state dashboard, down 1,720 from Friday’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’s risk assessment

The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was last updated Friday evening for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday. The dashboard does not update on the weekends. 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.

Numbers elsewhere

New coronavirus cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Saturday night:

▪ The U.S. has more than 31.62 million reported cases, the most of any nation, and more than 566,873 deaths.

▪ Worldwide, there are more than 140.29 million reported cases and 3 million deaths.

Washington state reported these numbers from the Department of Health Saturday evening:

▪ 358,592 confirmed cases, up 1,470 from reported cases Friday.

▪ 26,957 probable cases, up 185 from Friday’s data.

▪ 21,434 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, up 66 from data Friday.

▪ 6,255,935 total molecular tests, up 21,883 from Friday’s data.

▪ 5,380 deaths related to COVID-19 reported on Friday. That means 1.4% of all Washington residents who have tested positive for coronavirus have died. New deaths are not reported on the weekends.

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.

This story was originally published April 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.