Whatcom COVID update: ‘Too early’ to say county reaching a peak, as another death reported
Even though growth on Whatcom County’s COVID-19 epidemiological case curve appears to be slowing, health officials say it’s “too early to say that Whatcom has reached the peak of the current surge.”
“Counties in our region such as King and Snohomish appear to be leveling off, but historically our numbers have been a few weeks behind theirs,” Whatcom County Health Department Health Information and Assessment Supervisor Amy Hockenberry told The Bellingham Herald in an emailed statement.
The county received a reminder that it’s not yet out of the grasp of its fifth wave of the pandemic with 68 confirmed cases and a COVID-related death reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
The death was the 20th related to COVID the county has had reported since Aug. 20 (25 days) and its 129th overall during the pandemic.
Whatcom’s death reported Tuesday, which came on the same day the statewide COVID-related death count surpassed 7,000, was for a resident who first tested positive for COVID on Sept. 9 — the county’s first epidemiological death so far this month. As of Tuesday, there were 17 epidemiological deaths during August in Whatcom County.
During the pandemic, 1.0% of the county’s 13,528 total cases (confirmed and probable cases combined) have resulted in death, which is better than the statewide average of 1.2%.
No other information about the person whose death was reported Tuesday, including their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
The 68 confirmed cases reported Tuesday, bring Whatcom’s pandemic total to 12,620 cases.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 34 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Wednesday — down one from the last report and six fewer than the pandemic-high of 40 treated Saturday, Sept. 11.
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 908 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up nine from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A 14-day infection rate of 518.0 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Aug. 24 through Sept. 6 — lower than the 537.7 rate one week earlier (Aug. 17-30).
▪ 660 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up four from the last report.
▪ A weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 11.4 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data for Aug. 30 through Sept. 5 — unchanged from a week earlier (Aug. 24-30).
▪ 328,569 tests (molecular and antigen combined) performed during the pandemic — up 941 from the last report.
▪ 250,792 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 64.6% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 58.9% has completed it.
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. All 39 counties in Washington state were listed in the “High” transmission category, and 93.5% of all counties nationwide were “High.”
Blaine schools report cases
The Blaine School District COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday reported its first 12 COVID cases of the school year spread across six incidents.
The cases included:
▪ Four cases at the elementary school reported between Sept. 1 and 3.
▪ One case reported at the middle school between Sept. 1 and 3.
▪ One case reported at the high school between Sept. 1 and 3.
▪ One case reported at the primary school between Sept. 7 and 10.
▪ Two cases reported at the middle school between Sept. 7 and 10.
▪ Three cases reported at the high school between Sept. 7 and 10.
None of the incidents required classes return to remote learning or quarantine, according to the dashboard.
There were no updates listed on the Bellingham Public Schools or Mount Baker School District COVID dashboards Tuesday. Bellingham has had 23 cases spread across 17 incidents so far this school year, while Mount Baker has had six cases in three incidents.
The COVID dashboard for the Lynden School District has not reported any new cases this school year, while COVID case information could not be found on the websites for the Ferndale, Meridian or Nooksack Valley school districts.
