Whatcom passes 25,000 COVID cases in pandemic, adds 24 new hospitalizations and 2 deaths
Whatcom County surpassed 25,000 total COVID-19 cases during the pandemic Thursday, as the state reported 456 new cases along with 24 new hospitalizations and two more deaths related to COVID.
The 456 cases reported Thursday, Jan. 13, on the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard included 370 new confirmed cases, resulting from a positive molecular test, and 86 new probable cases resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test. The county has had 23,003 confirmed cases and 2,365 probable cases throughout the pandemic, according to the state.
Whatcom’s weekly infection rate also climbed to a record high for a ninth-straight day, as the county had 954 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. That is up from 392 a week earlier (Dec. 22-28) and from 199 two weeks earlier (Dec. 15-21).
For comparison, weekly case rates for the post-holiday surge in January 2021 peaked at 280 cases per 100,000 residents (Jan. 5-11), and for the delta surge late last summer rates peaked at 292 cases per 100,000 residents (Aug. 25-31).
Though epidemiological data remains incomplete for Jan. 5 to 12, Whatcom County has seen 3,284 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) during the month of January, according to The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of state data, meaning at least one in 58 residents in the county has tested positive for COVID during the first 12 days of 2022.
Case counts and case rates potentially could be even higher, as county health officials said they believe the results of many at-home tests are not reported and therefore not included in that data and that some people have not been able to schedule testing.
“We know that even those numbers ... are undercounts of what’s really happening in our community,” Whatcom County Health Director Erika Lautenbach said in an online briefing this week.
Whatcom’s COVID-related hospitalizations
The 24 COVID-related hospitalizations reported by the state Thursday represent the second-largest reported increase Whatcom County has seen during the pandemic, following only the 26 reported a day earlier, though that report included two day’s worth of hospitalization data due to an “interruption” in reporting processes earlier in the week.
The 24 hospitalizations pushed Whatcom’s pandemic total to 1,137 related to COVID, including 124 since the Dec. 27 report.
The county’s weekly hospitalization rate stands at 18.0 COVID-related admissions per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. That is up from the 9.2 rate one week earlier (Dec. 22-28) and is only slightly behind the pandemic record of 18.4 seen Sept. 10, 2021 (Sept. 4-10), and Oct. 27, 2021 (Oct. 21-27).
The Herald’s analysis found that 1.9% of the 2,175 total epidemiological cases between Dec. 29 and Jan. 4 resulted in hospitalization, which was down from 2.3% of the 894 epidemiological cases between Dec. 22 and 28.
As of the Whatcom County Health Department’s latest COVID-19 Data Report released Friday, Jan. 7, 366 of Whatcom County’s 446 COVID-related hospitalizations (82%) since Aug. 22 were in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, The Herald’s analysis shows.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 55 COVID-related patients on Friday, Jan. 14, which was down five from the 60 it reported on Thursday.
Because of its high patient count helping push capacity to and beyond 100%, the hospital has previously announced that it is rescheduling surgeries that can be postponed and has asked residents who need medical attention for milder injuries or illness, such as mild burns or cuts, allergies, sprains, urinary tract infections or flu and cold symptoms, to seek treatment by primary care physicians, urgent care clinics and same-day clinics rather than going to the hospital.
Additionally, hospital spokesperson Bev Mayhew reminded residents that the “Emergency Department is not a COVID-19 testing site and that we request only those patients requiring urgent/life-threatening care go there. It’s critical that we keep our ED open and available for these very ill or injured patients.”
Whatcom’s most recent deaths
The two deaths reported by the state Thursday brought the county’s pandemic total to 215, including 30 reported in the past 25 days.
The deaths reported Thursday were for people who first tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 10 and Jan. 1, The Herald’s analysis of the state’s epidemiological data found, bringing the county’s epidemiological death totals for December to 21 and January to two.
Since Aug. 1, the beginning of the delta surge, there have been 102 epidemiological deaths, The Herald found, which is 48% of the county’s pandemic total.
With 14,955 total cases (confirmed and probable combined) in the county since Aug. 1, Whatcom has seen 0.7% of cases during that time frame result in death, The Herald’s analysis showed. That is better than the county’s total pandemic death average of 0.9%, according to the state’s data, and the statewide 1.0% rate for the pandemic.
No other information about the people whose deaths were reported Thursday, such as their age, gender, vaccination status or hometown, was reported.
Through data reported by the Whatcom County Health Department on Tuesday, 87% of the first 211 COVID-related deaths in the county were in residents 60 and older, including 101 deaths in residents 80 and older. Though the county has not seen any deaths of people younger than 30, the data shows, the deaths of four residents in their 30s and 13 residents in their 40s have been linked to COVID-19.
As of the Whatcom County Health Department’s latest COVID-19 Data Report released Friday, Jan. 7, 44 of Whatcom County’s 67 COVID-related deaths (66%) since Aug. 22,were in unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, The Herald’s analysis shows.
Other Whatcom numbers
The latest report on the state dashboard also shows Whatcom County has:
▪ 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.
▪ 339,913 vaccinations administered during the pandemic. The state reports 69.8% of Whatcom County’s total population has initiated vaccination and 64.0% has completed it.
Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Tracker Friday listed Whatcom’s level of transmission as “High” — the highest of four categories. All of the 39 counties in Washington state and 99% of counties nationwide also were listed in the “High” transmission category.
Whatcom schools COVID update
The COVID-19 dashboards on Whatcom County school district websites showed:
▪ Bellingham Public Schools has reported 232 COVID-19 cases in its schools since the winter break, including 46 new cases listed Thursday. Of those new cases, five had a possible exposure window of Jan. 3-7: one new case at Alderwood Elementary, one new case at Lowell Elementary, two new cases at Roosevelt Elementary and one new case at Sehome High. Each school already had other cases reported with the same exposure window. The other 41 new cases had a possible exposure window of Jan. 10-14: five new cases at Bellingham High, three new cases at Carl Cozier Elementary, one new case at Columbia Elementary, 10 new cases at Fairhaven Middle School, three cases at Geneva Elementary, two cases at Happy Valley Elementary, one case at Kulshan Middle School, four new cases at Lowell Elementary, one new case at Roosevelt Elementary, one new case at Sehome High, one new case at Shuksan Middle School, one new case at Silver Beach Elementary, four new cases at Squalicum High, one new case at Sunnyland Elementary, two new cases at Whatcom Middle School and one case at a non-school site. Bellingham High, Carl Cozier, Columbia, Fairhaven, Lowell, Roosevelt, Sehome, Shuksan, Silver Beach, Squalicum, Sunnyland and Whatcom all had previous cases reported in the same exposure window.
▪ Blaine School District has reported 225 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, but it hasn’t listed any cases since the return from winter break.
▪ Lynden School District has reported 293 total COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, but it hasn’t reported any cases since Dec. 17.
▪ Meridian School District has previously reported 36 COVID-19 cases in its schools since the return from winter break, but listed no new cases since Jan. 7.
▪ Mount Baker School District has reported 63 COVID-19 cases in its schools this school year, but it hasn’t reported any cases since the return from winter break.
▪ Nooksack Valley School District has reported 27 COVID-19 cases since returning from winter break. All cases were reported Thursday with a possible exposure window of Jan. 2-8: nine cases at Nooksack Middle School, four cases at Nooksack Elementary, four cases at Sumas Elementary and 10 cases at Everson Elementary. No report was available from Nooksack High, as students returned to remote learning last week.
▪ Ferndale School District reported that as of Thursday, 88 students or staff had a positive test reported to the Whatcom County Health Department in the past seven days — up 10 from the last report. Thirty-seven of those people were on a school campus during their infectious period.
