COVID infection rates climb in five Whatcom regions, including big growth in four regions
Five of Whatcom County’s seven school district regions saw their two-week COVID-19 infection rates climb last week, including triple-digit growth in three of the regions.
The regions covered by the Ferndale, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley school districts all saw their two-week average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents increase by more than 100 from the previous week, according to the Whatcom County Health Department’s latest location data released on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
A fourth region, the region covered by the Meridian School District, just missed that mark, with an increase of 98 cases per 100,000 residents.
But the good news was the two regions that saw decreases — the Blaine and Lynden regions — previously had the highest infection rates in the county in the last report on Nov. 30.
The percentage of residents initiating vaccination also increased in every region but the Mount Baker region, the health department data showed.
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, Dec. 4.
Overall, Whatcom County saw a 2.2% growth in cases with 395 cases between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4 — up from the 297 new cases the county reported the previous week.
With 692 cases in the past two weeks, Whatcom County has an overall two-week infection rate of 308 cases per 100,000 residents, based on 225,300 residents in the county. Only one of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
As of Monday, Dec. 6, the Washington State Department of Health reported that 68% of all Whatcom County residents had initiated vaccination and 63% had completed it.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
Bellingham: Up 2.0% (128 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 6,556 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 195 last week to 209 this week. Approximately 79% 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 2.1% (30 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 1,462 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 382 last week to 355 this week. Approximately 71% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 11 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Ferndale: Up 2.4% (86 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 3,602 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 247 last week to 373 this week. Approximately 67% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 22 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Lynden: Up 1.9% (62 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 3,258 total cases, but the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days decreased from 656 last week to 581 this week. Approximately 56% 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% (22 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 1,075 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 232 last week to 330 this week. Approximately 65% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen nine COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Mount Baker: Up 3.3% (36 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 1,131 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 212 last week to 324 this week. Approximately 47% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 25 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
Nooksack Valley: Up 2.2% (31 cases) since the Nov. 30 report to 1,439 total cases, and the rate of new infections per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days increased from 331 last week to 471 this week. Approximately 52% of residents in the region have initiated vaccination, and the region has seen 26 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks.
