Bellingham hospital reports treating near-record number of COVID-related patients again
For the second time in three days, St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham is treating more than 40 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Thursday.
The hospital reported Oct. 28 that it is treating 41 patients — one fewer than the pandemic-record high 42 it treated on Tuesday, Oct. 26. In between, the total dipped to 36 on Wednesday, Oct. 27.
Before this week, the highest daily total the hospital had seen was 40 on Sept. 11.
Whatcom County now has had 814 COVID-related hospitalizations reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard as of Wednesday, which was an increase of four from the previous report.
Whatcom’s weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate stands at 9.7 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Oct. 12-18 — unchanged from a week earlier (Oct. 5-11), but incomplete data show the weekly rate could climb as high as 15.4 hospitalizations per 100,000 once data is finalized next week.
During a presentation to the Whatcom County Council on Tuesday, Whatcom County Co-Health Officer Dr. Greg Thompson reported that of the 42 COVID-related patients being treated Tuesday, six were vaccinated and 33 were unvaccinated, including one patient who was too young to receive the vaccine. The vaccination status of the three remaining patients had not been reported at the time of the council meeting.
Thompson also reported that 12 of the 42 patients Tuesday were in the Intensive Care Unit, and 11 of those were unvaccinated.
The Herald’s analysis of data reported by the Whatcom County Health Department showed that between Feb. 1 and Oct. 16 there were 421 COVID-related hospitalizations of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, compared to 59 COVID-related hospitalizations of fully vaccinated residents during the same period.
More Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 15,059 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 43 cases from the last report.
▪ 1,248 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up 20 from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 183 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Oct. 12-18 — up from the 158 rate one week earlier (Oct. 5-11).
▪ The state has stopped updating the number of completed tests until Oct. 31, as it works “to increase its capacity to process the increased testing data volume received in the last few months.”
▪ 271,992 vaccinations administered during the pandemic — up 1,268 from the last report. The state reports 66.7% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 61.6% has completed it.
▪ Additionally, the state reached 60% of the total population being fully vaccinated, according to Wednesday’s report. Whatcom County reached that mark on Sept. 29.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Thursday 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 76.0% of all counties nationwide were “High.”
Whatcom long-term care update
Whatcom County had 12 new COVID-19 cases but no new COVID-related deaths associated with its long-term care facilities reported 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 Wednesday and reflected data through Monday, Oct. 25, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 564 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities remained at 67, according to the state’s data.
The 564 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Oct. 25, while the 67 related deaths represent 43% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 25,434 cases (4% of the state’s total cases) and 3,063 related deaths (36% of the state’s death total).
Whatcom schools COVID update
The COVID-19 dashboards on Whatcom County school district websites showed:
▪ Bellingham Public Schools has reported 97 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including one new case reported Wednesday at Squalicum High School with possible exposure Oct. 25-29. Close contacts of all cases have been notified, according to the dashboard.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 82 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Wednesday.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 140 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Wednesday.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 21 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Wednesday.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 33 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including seven new cases Wednesday: one case reported Oct. 21 at Harmony Elementary, one case reported Oct. 22 at Mount Baker High/Junior High, one case reported Oct. 25 at Harmony Elementary, one case reported Oct. 25 at Mount Baker Junior High, one case reported Oct. 26 at Mount Baker High, one case reported Oct. 26 at Mount Baker Junior High, and one case reported Oct. 26 in the district’s transportation/maintenance department. Affected individuals and close contacts have been quarantined in all cases, the district reported.
▪ Ferndale School District reports that as of Wednesday, 12 students or staff have had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — a decrease from 14 in the last report. Six of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
COVID case information could not be found on the Nooksack Valley School District website.
