Whatcom’s COVID case count jumps 5% with record 947 cases reported over New Year’s weekend
Whatcom County’s pandemic total of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 5% over the New Year’s holiday weekend, as the state reported a record-high increase on Monday.
With 947 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard Monday, Jan. 3, as the county’s pandemic case total now stands at 19,633 cases.
The four-day increase is more than 2½ times higher than the 371 confirmed cases reported over the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, which previously stood as Whatcom’s largest increase in cases during the pandemic.
The 947 new cases in Whatcom County also represent a 5.1% increase over the state’s last report on Thursday, Dec. 30, which was higher than the 4.2% growth in cases seen statewide.
Though data is still incomplete since Dec. 26 and likely will change, the state’s epidemiological curves show Whatcom had five of its six largest days of the pandemic between Dec. 27 and Dec. 31, with daily positive molecular test counts of 180, 291, 277, 229 and 149. Before that stretch, Whatcom’s previous epidemiological high for a day was 152 on Dec. 23 and the county had reached triple digits just eight times during the pandemic.
“While our data this week is still incomplete, last week saw the five highest single-day case counts of the pandemic,” Whatcom County Co-Health Officer Dr. Greg Thompson told The Bellingham Herald in an email Tuesday. “79% of last week’s cases were in unvaccinated people. In three weeks, our case rates have tripled. Even though most infections are often mild, many people are still getting very ill, and on Monday, PeaceHealth had a record number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
“Now is the time to double down on prevention so we can keep our healthcare system and schools functioning. Please get vaccinated if you haven’t already. Please get your booster shot if you’re eligible. Booster shots give you the greatest amount of protection against Omicron infection, but even those first 2 doses can reduce severe COVID-19 and hospitalization by over 80%. Use a high-quality, well-fitting mask, such as a KN95, KF-94, or 3-ply surgical mask. We know it can be challenging to get a test right now, so if you have symptoms and you’re unable to get a test, assume you have COVID-19 and stay home.”
As of last week’s variant report by the state, Whatcom County had two confirmed omicron variant cases, but the true number of cases within the community is much larger, as only a fraction of positive tests are sequenced for variants.
The recent surge in cases appears to be impacting Whatcom residents 20 to 49 at a bit higher rate, as five in nine cases between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 (56%) were among residents in that age range, according to The Herald’s analysis of the state’s latest age range data released on Monday. For comparison that age group has accounted for 49% of Whatcom’s pandemic total of cases.
Based on 2019 U.S. Census estimates, there were approximately 729 cases per 100,000 residents between the ages of 20 and 49 between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, compared to a case rate of 413 per 100,000 residents for all other age groups combined, according to The Herald’s analysis.
Other Whatcom COVID data
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 1,652 probable COVID cases during the pandemic — up 34 from the last report — resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.
▪ A weekly infection rate of 250 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data Dec. 19-25 — up from 160 one week earlier (Dec. 12-18).
▪ 1,040 COVID-related hospitalizations during the pandemic — up 10 from the last report. St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 42 patients with COVID-related symptoms on Tuesday, Jan. 4 — down three from the pandemic record 45 it was treating Monday.
▪ A weekly COVID-related hospitalization rate of 7.5 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological hospitalization data from Dec. 19-25 — unchanged from a week earlier (Dec. 12-18).
▪ 201 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic — unchanged from the last report, but due to a “technical issue” death data was incomplete, according to the dashboard.
▪ 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 Feb. 28.
▪ 333,771 vaccinations administered during the pandemic — up 3,281 from the last report. The state reports 69.5% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 63.8% has completed it. The state also reports Whatcom has administered 59,681 “additional doses,” which includes third doses for immunocompromised residents and booster doses.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Tuesday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. Thirty-two of the 39 counties in Washington state and 91% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
