Cases among school-age residents spur COVID infection rate growth in two Whatcom regions
Two-week COVID-19 infection rates grew in three of Whatcom County’s seven school district regions last week, with one region seeing its infection rate climb to its highest mark since late January.
The two-week infection rate in the region covered by the Nooksack Valley School District climbed to its highest mark the region has seen since it registered a mark of 1,111 cases per 100,000 residents in the Jan. 26 report, the Whatcom County Health Department’s latest location data showed on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Spurring the climb was a surge in cases among Nooksack Valley residents between the ages of 5 and 17. That age group had a weekly infection rate of 1,002 cases per 100,000 residents, which is not only nearly triple the infection rate of any other age group within the region, but also more than double what the weekly rate was one week earlier.
The Lynden region, which has the county’s highest two-week infection rate, also saw a high rate among its residents between 5 and 17 years old with 781 cases per 100,000 residents in the past week, but that is actually down from a week earlier, when it stood at 1,025.
The Mount Baker region was the third region to see an increase last week, but infection rates were pretty even across different ages, the health department data shows.
The latest data also showed that the Bellingham region surpassed 6,000 total cases during the pandemic, while the Meridian region became the county’s last to reach 1,000. Both regions, along with the Blaine and Ferndale regions, saw their two-week infection rates decrease.
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, percentage of residents who have initiated vaccination and a breakdown of case rates by age. Data in this week’s report was through Saturday, Nov. 6.
Overall, Whatcom County saw a 2.7% growth in cases with 450 cases between Oct. 31 and Nov. 6 — down from the 451 new cases the county reported the previous week, according to the data.
With 901 cases in the past two weeks, Whatcom County has an overall two-week infection rate of 400, based on 225,300 residents in the county. Three of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 10, the Washington State Department of Health reported that 67.3% of all Whatcom County residents had initiated vaccination and 62.2% had completed it.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
Bellingham: Up 2.6% (151 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 6,047 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 266 last week to 255 this week. Approximately 75% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 13 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 in the past two weeks.
Blaine: Up 2.5% (32 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 1,319 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 340 last week to 324 this week. Approximately 69% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 27 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Ferndale: Up 2.3% (75 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 3,347 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 477 last week to 415 this week. Approximately 65% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 31 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Lynden: Up 3.0% (86 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 2,964 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 767 last week to 837 this week. Approximately 54% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 19 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Meridian: Up 2.1% (21 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 1,000 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 374 last week to 348 this week. Approximately 63% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 27 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Mount Baker: Up 3.2% (32 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 1,036 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 398 last week to 429 this week. Approximately 46% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 37 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Nooksack Valley: Up 4.1% (53 cases) since the Nov. 2 report to 1,340 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 558 last week to 723 this week. Approximately 50% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 35 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
