CDC drops Whatcom’s COVID community level to ‘low,’ but one region’s numbers still ‘high’
With Whatcom’s case and hospitalization rates continuing to drop in recent weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set the county’s COVID-19 community level at “low.”
The CDC last week began releasing COVID-19 community levels on a county-by-county basis along with updated recommended guidelines for individuals and communities at each of three levels.
Whatcom started at the “medium” level, but with an update on Thursday, March 3, the CDC says Whatcom’s community level is now “low,” meaning the guidelines currently being recommend by the CDC relaxed a little.
Statewide, 22 of Washington state’s 39 counties were in the “low” range, including Skagit, Snohomish and King counties. Another 13 were in the “medium” range, the CDC reported, but the remaining four, which included Pierce, Chelan, Grant and Douglas counties, had “high” community levels.
To be classified in the “low” level, counties must have:
▪ Fewer than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past seven days.
▪ Fewer than 10 new COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents in the past seven days.
▪ Less than 10% of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
For Thursday’s report, the CDC used Feb. 24 to March 2 for analysis. According to incomplete data on the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard Wednesday, March 2, Whatcom County had an infection rate of 137 cases per 100,000 residents and a hospitalization rate of seven patients per 100,000 residents for that time period.
Unlike the “moderate” community level, the CDC guidelines do not include masking guidelines for most indoor situations for communities at the “low” level. At the “medium” level, the CDC recommends those who are at high risk of serious complications from COVID and those who could expose those at high risk to wear masks.
At every level, the CDC says people “can wear a mask based on personal preference” and should wear a mask if they have COVID symptoms, test positive or have possible exposure.
Despite Whatcom’s “low” community level, Washington state will continue to mandate masking in public indoor areas, including schools, until March 12.
For counties in the “low” level, the CDC makes the following recommendations for individuals:
▪ Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
▪ Maintain improved ventilation in indoor spaces.
▪ Follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine and get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms.
▪ Have a plan for rapid testing and talk to your healthcare providers about treatments such as antivirals and monoclonal antibodies if you are immunocompromised or at increased risk of serious complications from COVID.
Whatcom COVID location data
Though Whatcom County as a whole was moved to the “low” community level by the CDC, one school district region would remain at the “high” level, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis of the latest data released Thursday by the Whatcom County Health Department data showed.
If the CDC were to break down its community levels to the school district regions used by the county health department, the region covered by the Lynden School District still has COVID case and hospitalization rates that would have it ranked in the “high” community level, where indoor masking in all public locations is recommended by the CDC.
But the Lynden area would not be terribly far off, as it was one of six school district regions in the county to see its case rates decrease last week, as the entire county recovers from January’s omicron surge. The infection rate in the seventh region — the one covered by the Meridian School District — remained unchanged from the week before.
COVID-related hospitalization rates dropped in three of the seven regions, and two others remained at zero hospitalizations per 100,000 residents.
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. 26.
Overall, Whatcom County saw its pandemic total of cases increase by 299 between Feb. 20 and Feb. 26, which was less than a third of the 935 cases reported two weeks earlier.
Whatcom County has a weekly infection rate of 128 cases per 100,000 residents from Feb. 20-26, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard, though that data remains incomplete and likely will change. Three of the county’s regions had infection rates lower than that mark, according to the county’s data this week.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county:
▪ Bellingham: Had a weekly infection rate of 101 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 185 a week earlier) with 111 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to one COVID-related hospitalization per 100,000 residents, and 83% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Blaine: Had a weekly infection rate of 154 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 228 a week earlier) with 28 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to five COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 76% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Ferndale: Had a weekly infection rate of 152 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 202 a week earlier) with 49 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate dropped to eight COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 72% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Lynden: Had a weekly infection rate of 233 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 302 a week earlier) with 51 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to 19 COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 59% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Meridian: Had a weekly infection rate of 89 cases per 100,000 residents (unchanged from a week earlier) with 16 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate stayed at no COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 68% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
▪ Mount Baker: Had a weekly infection rate of 50 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 100 a week earlier) with 26 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate climbed to six 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 157 cases per 100,000 residents (down from 235 a week earlier) with 18 new cases reported. The region’s hospitalization rate stayed at no COVID-related hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and 56% of the region’s residents have initiated vaccination.
This story was originally published March 4, 2022 at 10:19 AM.
