Whatcom health department offers Thanksgiving advice, as COVID rates higher than 2020
As much of Whatcom County prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends, the Whatcom County Health Department on Tuesday reminded residents that COVID-19 numbers remain high heading into the holiday.
In fact, COVID-19 infection rates are double what they were before the Thanksgiving holiday in 2020 and COVID-related hospitalization rates are more than five times the rates from a year ago, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of state data shows.
“If you’re preparing to travel or gather with loved ones for Thanksgiving, please keep in mind that COVID-19 numbers in Whatcom County are still high,” the health department said in a Facebook post Tuesday, Nov. 23.
“If you’re sick, please cancel your plans and stay home. It’s disappointing to cancel at the last minute, but it’s better than infecting vulnerable people such as elders, the immunocompromised, and children too young to be vaccinated.”
The health department also suggested residents consider:
▪ Taking an at-home rapid COVID test before meeting for holiday festivities, offering more information on the testing at https://bit.ly/3r9SZkB.
▪ Using the Department of Health’s new proof of vaccination QR Code option through WA Verify, the state’s new Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record system. The new tool makes it easy to download vaccination records and provide proof of vaccination on your phone at waverify.doh.wa.gov.
Case and hospitalization rates on the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Tuesday showed why the county health department issued the advice.
According to the dashboard, Whatcom’s weekly COVID infection rate is 194 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Nov. 8 to 14. While that is down slightly from the 195 rate a week ago (Nov. 1 to 7), it is nearly double Whatcom’s rate of 98 cases per 100,000 residents from two days before Thanksgiving last year (Nov. 10 to 16, 2020).
Whatcom’s COVID-related hospitalization rate is 9.7 hospitalizations per 100,000 residents for the most recent completed epidemiological data from Nov. 8 to 14, according to the dashboard. Again that is down from the 11.0 rate from a week ago (Nov. 1 to 7) but more than five times Whatcom’s 1.8 rate from Nov 10 to 16, 2020.
Whatcom’s daily numbers
Tuesday’s report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 16,566 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 54 cases from the last report.
▪ 1,421 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up five from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ 917 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up five from the last report. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 28 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Wednesday — unchanged from its last report.
▪ 173 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic — unchanged from the last report.
▪ 348,103 total tests (molecular and antigen combined). The state reported it is still working to update testing data and hopes to fully resume reporting by Nov. 30.
▪ 296,195 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 67.9% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 62.7% has completed it. The state also reports
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. Thirty-three of the 39 counties in Washington state were listed in the “High” transmission category.
The state will not update the dashboard Thursday or Friday, Nov. 25-26, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday and Native American Heritage Day. Data from those days will be released on Monday, Nov. 29.
Whatcom long-term care update
Whatcom County had 29 new COVID-19 cases associated with its long-term care facilities reported last week but no new COVID-related deaths, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 Long-Term Care Report.
According to the report, which was released Tuesday and reflected data through Monday, Nov. 22, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 620 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 620 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Nov. 22, while the 67 related deaths represented 33% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 26,439 cases (3% of the state’s total cases) and 3,154 related deaths (35% 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 140 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including four new cases listed Tuesday: one new case at Happy Valley Elementary with a possible exposure window of Nov. 15-19, one new case at Birchwood Elementary with a possible exposure window of Nov. 15-19, one case at Whatcom Middle School with a possible exposure window of Nov. 15-19 and one case at Fairhaven Middle School with a possible exposure window of Nov. 8-12. One case, each, had previously been reported at Happy Valley and Birchwood elementaries with the same exposure window. Close contacts from all cases have been notified, according to the district.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 153 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Tuesday.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 229 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Tuesday.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 57 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Tuesday.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 35 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. It listed no new cases Tuesday.
▪ Nooksack Valley School District has reported 21 COVID-19 cases in its schools since Oct. 31. It listed no new cases Tuesday.
▪ Ferndale School District reported Tuesday that 12 students or staff have had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — up eight from the last report. Four of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 9:04 AM.
