Whatcom County reaches 1,000th COVID-related hospitalization and sees another death
Whatcom County reached 1,000 total COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic and saw another COVID-related death on Tuesday, Dec. 21.
The death was Whatcom’s 188th that has been linked to COVID-19 during the pandemic, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
The death reported Tuesday was for a person who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 8, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found, bringing the county’s epidemiological death total for November to 12. There has been one epidemiological death so far in December.
Since Aug. 1 there have been 76 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 40% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 9,052 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) in the county since Aug. 1, Whatcom has seen 0.8% of cases during that time frame result in death, The Herald’s analysis showed. That is better than the county’s pandemic death average of 1.0%, according to the state’s data, and the statewide 1.2% rate for the pandemic.
No other information about the person was reported Tuesday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Before the death reported Tuesday, 75% of Whatcom’s 75 deaths since Aug. 1 were in people 65 and older, according to The Herald’s analysis of the latest age-range data released by the state on Monday, Dec. 20. An additional eight deaths (11%) were in people between 50 and 64, while eight (11%) were in people between 35 and 49.
Not including the death reported Tuesday, no COVID-related deaths have been seen in any Whatcom residents younger than 30 during the pandemic, according to data released by the Whatcom County Health Department.
Before the death reported Tuesday and two more reported Monday, there were 59 COVID-related deaths in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Whatcom County residents between Feb. 1 and Dec. 11, including 32 since Aug. 22, according to The Herald’s analysis of the latest data released Friday, Dec. 17, by the Whatcom County Health Department. For comparison, there were 25 deaths of fully vaccinated residents between Feb. 1 and Dec. 11, including 20 since Aug. 22.
Whatcom reaches 1,000 hospitalizations
With five new COVID-related hospitalizations reported Tuesday, Whatcom now stands at 1,000 for the pandemic.
Since Aug. 1, there have been 481 COVID-related hospitalizations, as nearly half of of the county’s total have occurred during the delta surge, The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data showed.
The rate of hospitalization has increased, as 5.3% of Whatcom’s total 9,052 total COVID cases since Aug. 1 have resulted in hospitalization, The Herald found, which is higher than the 4.9% rate from March 2020 through July 2021.
Fortunately, hospitalizations have been decreasing in the county the past few weeks.
The county currently has a weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 9.2 patients per 100,000 for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Dec. 6-12 — down from 11.8 a week earlier (Nov. 29 to Dec. 5).
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham also reported it was treating 25 COVID-related patients on Wednesday, Dec. 22, which was down three from its previous report.
But with the omicron variant in the area, the hospital said it is preparing for that trend to change.
“Current projections predict a significant spike in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations driven by the omicron variant beginning mid-January and likely peaking in February,” the hospital said in a Facebook post Tuesday. “It is not too late to take action. Please do what you can to keep yourself, your family, your co-workers and your community safe. Get fully vaccinated, including a booster if eligible, wear masks, and avoid large indoor gatherings this holiday season.
Other Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 17,888 confirmed cases during the pandemic — up 39 from the last report.
▪ 1,577 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up three from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 146 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Dec. 6-12 — down from 213 one week earlier (Nov. 29 to Dec. 5).
▪ 348,103 total tests (molecular and antigen combined). The state reported that an “unexpected delay” has once again pushed back the resumption of its reporting of testing data until approximately Dec. 30.
▪ 323,834 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 69.0% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.5% has completed it.
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. Twenty-eight of the 39 counties in Washington state and 80% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
Whatcom long-term care update
Whatcom County had 26 new COVID-19 cases associated with its long-term care facilities reported last week and two 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, Dec. 20, Whatcom County long-term care facilities have had 681 confirmed cases during the pandemic. The number of COVID-related deaths related to Whatcom’s long-term care facilities climbed to 70, according to the state’s data.
The 681 cases mean that long-term care facilities had 4% of the total cases reported in Whatcom County as of Dec. 6, while the 70 related deaths represented 37% of the county’s death total.
Statewide, long-term care facilities have been associated with 27,168 cases (3% of the state’s total cases) and 3,224 related deaths (33% 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 180 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Dec. 17 have been listed.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 203 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Dec. 19 have been listed.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 293 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, including 12 new cases listed from between Dec. 13 and 17: two cases at Bernice Vossbeck Elementary, one case at Fisher Elementary, one case at Isom Elementary, five cases at Lynden Middle School and three cases at Lynden High.
▪ Meridian School District has reported 85 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Dec. 12 have been listed.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 43 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year. No new reported cases since Nov. 24 have been listed.
▪ Nooksack Valley School District has reported 44 COVID-19 cases in its schools since Oct. 31, including 14 new cases listed from between Dec. 12 and 18: two cases at Nooksack High, one case at Nooksack Middle School, four cases at Sumas Elementary and seven cases at Everson Elementary.
▪ Ferndale School District reported Friday that seven students or staff had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — up three from the last report. Four of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
