Whatcom County sees 7 new COVID-related hospitalizations reported Tuesday
On the day after PeaceHealth restricted visitor access at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham due to escalating COVID-19 numbers in the community, Whatcom County saw seven COVID-related hospitalizations added to its pandemic total.
The Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Tuesday, Aug. 10, reported Whatcom County has had 526 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic.
The county had 17 hospitalizations in the past week, according to the Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data, though those numbers could change once the state finalizes that data in about a week and a half. The 17 hospitalizations work out to approximately 7.5 per 100,000 residents over the past week.
St. Joseph hospital reported that it was treating 26 COVID patients on Wednesday, Aug. 11, up five from Monday and only five short of the pandemic high of 31, last seen on June 8.
Whatcom saw only an increase of only eight new cases reported Tuesday — a day after the state reported a weekend increase of 113 cases in the county — but that number was impacted by an interruption to the Department of Health’s data processes, according to the state website. Statewide, the dashboard reported only 32 new cases Tuesday.
The latest report on the state dashboard shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 10,212 confirmed cases during the pandemic. Whatcom’s infection rate increased to 154.4 cases per 100,000 residents according to the state’s most recently completed epidemiological data between July 20 and Aug. 2, the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard reported.
▪ An additional 497 probable cases during the pandemic — down one from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ 109 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic — unchanged from the last report.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Wednesday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. Jefferson and Skamania counties were the only of Washington state’s 39 counties not listed in the “High” transmission category.
Whatcom long-term care update
Whatcom County had 20 new COVID-19 cases 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. No new related deaths were reported.
According to the report, which was released Tuesday, and reflected data through Monday, Aug. 9, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 413 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities remained at 51, according to the state’s data.
The 413 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4.0% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Aug. 9, while the 51 related deaths represent 46.8% of the county’s death total.
The Whatcom County Health Department during a Wednesday online briefing reiterated its policy of not discussing outbreaks unless they threaten the public when asked if any long-term care facilities in the county are currently reporting outbreaks.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 21,197 cases (4% of the state’s total cases) and 2,700 related deaths (44% of the state’s death total).
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 8:18 AM.
