New weekly COVID cases took a 70% drop in 2 Whatcom regions, as all 7 areas saw big drops
Six of the seven school district regions in Whatcom County saw at least a 50% decrease in new COVID-19 cases last week, and two regions saw more than 70% decreases, as the entire county put January’s omicron surge further behind.
The only region to miss seeing a 50% decrease in new cases last week was the area covered by the Lynden School District, which still saw a 43% drop, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the latest location data released Thursday, Feb. 10, by the Whatcom County Health Department.
Meanwhile, new COVID cases in the Meridian region were down 70% compared to the week before, and the Mount Baker region saw its weekly count drop 77% in cases.
But along with the good signs came data that showed that the weekly hospitalization rate, or the number of new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, in five of the seven regions increased from last week’s rates.
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, Feb. 5.
Overall, Whatcom County saw 1,277 new cases between Jan. 23 and Jan. 29 — down from the 3,055 new cases the county reported the previous week.
That gave Whatcom County a weekly infection rate of 626 cases per 100,000 residents, the health department reported. Three of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
As of Monday, Feb. 7, the Washington State Department of Health reported that nearly 74% of all Whatcom County residents had initiated vaccination and 67% had completed it.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
▪ Bellingham: Had a weekly infection rate of 528 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 875 a week earlier) with 571 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to 18 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 83% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Blaine: Had a weekly infection rate of 759 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 934 a week earlier) with 117 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 16 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 75% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Ferndale: Had a weekly infection rate of 696 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 1,232 a week earlier) with 198 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 39 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 71% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Lynden: Had a weekly infection rate of 1,046 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 1,404 a week earlier) with 214 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 33 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 58% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Meridian: Had a weekly infection rate of 446 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 900 a week earlier) with 40 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 36 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 67% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Mount Baker: Had a weekly infection rate of 311 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 759 a week earlier) with 40 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to 12 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 50% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Nooksack Valley: Had a weekly infection rate of 898 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 1,386 a week earlier) with 97 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 35 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 55% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
