As Whatcom’s case rate grew last week, hospital’s COVID patient load doubles over weekend
Whatcom County saw its number of new reported COVID-19 cases last week grow by more than a third, while the number of COVID patients at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham more than doubled over the weekend.
Whatcom had 206 new confirmed COVID cases reported last week by the Washington State Department of Health’s coronavirus dashboard, as the county’s pandemic total climbed from 9,885 cases July 30 to 10,091 reported Friday, Aug. 6. It was the largest weekly increase Whatcom has seen since it had 220 reported the final week of May and was a 37.3% increase over the 150 reported the previous week (July 25-31).
An additional 488 probable COVID cases — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test — have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, which was an increase of 30 from the previous week’s total.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph hospital reported it was treating 22 COVID patients on Monday, Aug. 9, more than double the 10 reported on Friday. It was the highest number of COVID patients at the hospital since 24 were reported June 10 but still below the pandemic high of 31 reported June 7.
Overall, the state reported Whatcom has had 513 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic as of Friday — an increase of eight from the previous week. But the state reported no new COVID-related deaths last week, as Whatcom remained at 109.
Earlier last week, the state reported that the number of confirmed delta variant cases in Whatcom County jumped from 11 to 36.
“The number of new COVID cases and the new detections of the Delta variant are more evidence of what we were already seeing: the start of a new COVID surge,” Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Scarlet Tang told The Bellingham Herald in an email. “If you’re eligible for the vaccine, please get vaccinated and protect yourself and your loved ones from a largely preventable disease. And if you’re already vaccinated, please help someone you know to get the vaccine.”
Other Whatcom County COVID numbers show:
▪ 97.3% of Whatcom County’s 3,537 COVID cases between Feb. 1 and July 24 were in residents who were not fully vaccinated, according to the state’s latest breakthrough report. That’s slightly higher than the 96.5% average for the entire state. The state also reported that 96.0% of all COVID-related hospitalizations and 94.6% of all COVID-related deaths during that same time period were in people who were not fully vaccinated.
▪ Whatcom’s infection rate increased to 133.3 cases per 100,000 residents based on the state’s most recent complete epidemiological data between July 16 and 29, according to the state’s risk assessment dashboard, up from 85.8 a week earlier for data between July 9 and 22.
▪ Whatcom’s COVID-related weekly hospitalization rate climbed to 3.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents based on the state’s most recent completed data between July 20 and 26, according to The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data, up from 3.1 a week earlier for data between July 13 and 19.
▪ The state reports that 1.0% of Whatcom’s 10,579 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death — better than the statewide 1.3% average.
▪ The state’s vaccination report on Friday showed the county has now administered 237,095 vaccine doses — an increase of 1,808 but less than the 2,485 administered the week before — and estimated that 61.5% of the total population in the county had initiated vaccination and 56.2% had completed it. Both were ahead of the overall percentages for the state, which reported that 58.0% of the state’s total population initiated vaccination and 53.0% are fully vaccinated.
▪ Whatcom’s COVID test positivity rate climbed to 5.92% between July 23 and 29, according to The Herald’s analysis of the state’s most recently complete epidemiological data, up from 3.34% between July 16 and 22.
▪ The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker lists the level of transmission in Whatcom County at “High” (the highest of four classifications) and up from “Substantial” last week.
PeaceHealth vaccine update
PeaceHealth will host one COVID-19 vaccine clinic this week from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10, at the Cordata Main Clinic location, 4545 Cordata Parkway.
Though appointments are recommended at the Cordata vaccine clinic, walk-ins are welcome. Schedule an online appointment through PeaceHealth’s COVID-19 online scheduling tool at http://ow.ly/vdhU50E0Nu0 .
As all doses are the Pfizer vaccine, individuals 12 and older are eligible to receive doses, though parental consent is needed for those under 18.
Check for available appointments by going to its online scheduling tool at peacehealth.org. PeaceHealth affiliation isn’t required to get the COVID-19 vaccine from PeaceHealth. Or, call 833-375-0285 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone line doesn’t accept messages.
For other vaccine sites, check with your health care provider or go to Washington state’s Vaccine Locator tool at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
Long-term care update
Whatcom County had one new COVID-19 case and one new related death associated with its long-term care facilities last week, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.
According to the report, which was released Tuesday, Aug. 3, and reflected data through Monday, Aug. 2, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 393 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities climbed to 51, according to the state’s data.
The 393 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4.0% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of July 26, while the 51 related deaths represent 46.8% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 21,005 cases (4% of the state’s total cases) and 2,693 related deaths (44% of the state’s death total).
