How many COVID cases has Whatcom health associated with the Northwest Washington Fair?
The Whatcom County Health Department is aware of 108 COVID-19 cases associated with the 10-day 2021 Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden.
“This includes both people who were contagious while they were at the fair and people who may have been exposed while they were at the fair,” health department spokesperson Jennifer Moon told The Bellingham Herald in an emailed statement Friday, Sept. 2. “We don’t have a more specific breakdown. This number may continue to increase as we continue to investigate cases.”
After being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, the fair returned with an extended 10-day schedule that ran from Aug. 12 to Aug. 21.
Although fair officials track the number of folks who visit the fair in Lynden, they previously declined to release this year’s attendance numbers to The Herald.
Since Aug. 12 Whatcom County has had 1,290 confirmed COVID cases and an additional 261 probable cases, resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test, according to Washington State Department of Health epidemiological data released Wednesday, Sept. 1.
“It is unclear how much transmission occurred among visitors to the fair,” Moon’s statement said. “But what we are seeing regarding the fair highlights the need for masking or other precautions when attending large events, given our high case rate right now.”
The Northwest Washington Fair did not respond to The Herald’s requests for comment.
As part of its effort to reduce contact between vendors and customers, the fair rolled out a contactless payment system called BlastPass for concessions. But it didn’t last long — after the first day of the fair, there were technical difficulties, fair manager Jim Baron previously told The Herald, and organizers made the decision to allow vendors to accept both cash and BlastPass credits.
The fair website also stated that it achieved Global Biorisk Advisory Council Star accreditation, which it called “the gold standard for prepared facilities,” prior to the event.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 4:35 PM.
