COVID-19 infection rates grew by triple digits in two Whatcom County regions last week
Two Whatcom County school district regions saw triple-digit increases in their COVID-19 infection rates last week, but one region saw an even larger decrease.
The regions covered by the Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley school districts each saw their number of new COVID cases per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks climb by more than 100, according to the latest location data released by the Whatcom County Health Department on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, the two-week infection rate in the region covered by the Blaine School District dropped by more than 200 last week, according to the county’s data.
Overall, three of the seven regions saw their rates increase, three saw decreases, and the Bellingham region was unchanged and continued to be the only region with an infection rate lower than 300.
The county health department releases weekly data on the location of COVID-19 cases using school districts as geographical boundaries, including each region’s number of total cases during the pandemic, infection rate, hospitalization rate and percentage of residents who have initiated vaccination. Data in this week’s report was through Saturday, Oct. 2, and the infection and hospitalization rates reflect confirmed cases from Sept. 22 through Oct. 2.
Overall, Whatcom County saw a 3.2% growth in cases with 458 cases between Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 — up from the 429 new cases the county reported the previous week, according to the data.
With 887 cases in the past two weeks, Whatcom County has an overall infection rate of 394, based on 225,300 residents in the county. Five of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
As of Oct. 2, the Washington State Department of Health reported that 65.7% of all Whatcom County residents had initiated vaccination and 60.4% had completed it.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
Bellingham: Up 3.5% (176 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 5,255 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days remained at 238. Approximately 74.1% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 8.0 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 in the past two weeks.
Blaine: Up 2.8% (32 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 1,155 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 514 last week to 313 this week. Approximately 66.6% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 5.3 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Ferndale: Up 2.4% (67 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 2,901 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 429 last week to 345 this week. Approximately 62.9% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 16.8 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Lynden: Up 3.6% (88 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 2,541 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 753 last week to 715 this week. Approximately 52.4% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 32.5 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Meridian: Up 2.4% (21 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 901 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 312 last week to 348 this week. Approximately 61.6% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 17.8 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Mount Baker: Up 5.1% (43 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 893 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 255 last week to 411 this week. Approximately 44.6% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 24.9 COVID-related hospitalizations in the past two weeks.
Nooksack Valley: Up 2.8% (31 cases) since the Sept. 28 report to 1,128 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 244 last week to 366 this week. Approximately 48.8% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 17.4 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
