Delta variant of COVID-19 sees large increase in Whatcom County, latest report shows
After seeing no new cases reported by the Washington State Department of Health the past two weeks, Whatcom County’s number of confirmed COVID-19 delta variant cases jumped by 10 cases last week.
Whatcom County, which had its first confirmed delta variant case reported July 6, now has had 11 confirmed cases of the variant, according to the latest SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing and Variants in Washington State report released by the state Department of Health Wednesday, July 28.
The Whatcom County Health Department said it was anticipating an increase, in an email to The Bellingham Herald earlier this week, citing a lag time of a few weeks in the state’s reports.
“We expect the number of Delta cases to increase, given the way it’s spreading in the state,” Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Scarlet Tang wrote. “It’s likely that cases are increasing due to a number of factors, including how contagious Delta is, increased social gatherings and travel, and the lifting of most restrictions.”
The Whatcom County Health Department told The Herald it was checking to see if any of the 10 new delta variant cases were in a resident who had been fully vaccinated.
The release of the report showing the increased delta variants in Whatcom County came the same day as Gov. Jay Inslee encouraged all Washington state residents to consider wearing masks when they’re in public indoor areas, regardless of vaccination status, as case rates across the state are signaling the onset of a fifth wave during the pandemic.
“Vaccination remains the safest and most effective tool for protecting people’s health against the coronavirus, including the Delta variant, and we ask everyone 12 and over to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Tang wrote.
“If you’re fully vaccinated, wearing a mask will provide you with an additional layer of protection as there will always be a small number of breakthrough cases,” she continued.
As of Wednesday evening, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard was reporting 9,837 confirmed cases and 454 probable cases in Whatcom County along with 499 COVID-related hospitalizations and 108 related deaths. The state also reported 126,729 Whatcom residents, which is approximately 55.6% of the total population, are fully vaccinated.
Though the delta is the variant currently causing health experts and policymakers the greatest concern, as it is approximately twice as transmissible as the original COVID-19 virus, it is not the only strain the state is tracking.
In addition to the 10 new delta variant cases reported Wednesday, the state report showed Whatcom still had 76 new confirmed cases of other COVID variants. Whatcom County has at least one case of nine of the 11 variants currently being tracked in Washington state.
Since its first confirmed variant case was reported Feb. 23, Whatcom has had a total of 721 variant cases through July 27, which accounts for 21.37% of all Whatcom’s cases reported since then, according to analysis by The Herald.
Not every positive test is sequenced for variants, though, as statewide approximately 21.3% of all confirmed molecular COVID-19 cases were tested for variants, according to the state report, which does not break down county-by-county sequencing rates.
The state’s most recent variants report for Whatcom County last week showed:
▪ 45 new alpha (U.K.) variant cases — 432 total.
▪ No new B.1.351 (South Africa) variant case — three total.
▪ 30 new gamma (Brazil) variant cases — 217 total.
▪ No new B.1.427 (California) variant cases — six total.
▪ No new B.1.429 (California) variant cases — 31 total.
▪ One new B.1.526 (New York) variant cases — 18 total.
▪ No new B.1.525 (New York) variant cases — two total.
▪ Ten new delta (India) variant cases — 11 total.
▪ No new kappa (India) variant cases — one total.
Whatcom also has seen no cases of the P.2 (Brazil) or B.1.617.3 (India) variants, according to the report.
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 12:45 PM.
