Whatcom returns to CDC’s ‘medium’ COVID risk level, but 3 regions in county at ‘low’ level
Whatcom County returned to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control an Prevention “medium” community COVID-19 risk level on Thursday, meaning masking is once again recommended for those who are at high risk of serious complications from COVID and those who could expose those at high risk.
But if the CDC boiled its data down to the school district level, three of the seven regions within the county would actually receive “low” grades, The Bellingham Herald found by analyzing the latest location data released Thursday, June 9, by the Whatcom County Health Department.
The regions covered by the Meridian, Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley school districts all had weekly COVID infection and hospitalization rates that would qualify them for the “low” community level, where masking is recommended only for those experiencing symptoms, who test positive or have been possibly exposed to someone with COVID, The Herald’s analysis found.
But “medium” rankings in the Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale and Lynden regions were enough to push the county, as a whole, back into the “medium” community level for the third time since the CDC began releasing county-by-county risk levels earlier this spring and the second time in the past three weeks.
On the positive side, The Herald’s analysis found that infection rates dropped in six of seven regions, with Lynden seeing only a slight increase in its number of new cases per 100,000 residents compared to the week before. But Lynden’s infection rate, like Blaine’s, still was low enough to receive a “low” grade from the CDC if not for a bump in its number of hospitalizations last week.
The Bellingham and Ferndale regions were the only two regions in the county with infection rates above the CDC’s threshold to receive a “low” ranking.
To be classified in the “low” level by the CDC, 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.
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.
As of Friday, June 10, St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported it was treating 20 COVID-related patients. That would give it an average of 17.7 COVID-related patients per day over the past week (June 4-10) — its highest weekly patient count since Feb. 26 when it was 18.7, but still within the CDC’s “low” guidelines with 7.0% of the hospital’s 252 inpatient beds filled by COVID patients.
The Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard’s latest update on Wednesday, June 8, reported 477 new COVID cases and 14 COVID-related hospitalizations in Whatcom County have been epidemiologically linked to June. For the entire pandemic, Whatcom County has had 41,482 cases with 1,638 hospitalizations and 307 deaths related to COVID-19.
Here is what the health department’s latest data showed for the seven regions in the county for the week of May 29 to June 4:
▪ Bellingham: Had 325 new cases, 12 new hospitalizations and no new deaths reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 17,732 cases, 565 hospitalizations and 145 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 243 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 272 one week earlier.
▪ Blaine: Had 29 new cases, two new hospitalizations and no new deaths reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 3,460 cases, 128 hospitalizations and 23 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 164 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 198 one week earlier.
▪ Ferndale: Had 90 new cases, three new hospitalizations and one new death reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 7,582 cases, 345 hospitalizations and 55 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 267 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 291 one week earlier.
▪ Lynden: Had 39 new cases, three new hospitalizations and no new deaths reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 5,622 cases, 271 hospitalizations and 38 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 188 cases per 100,000 residents was up from 164 one week earlier.
▪ Meridian: Had 12 new cases, no new hospitalizations and one new death reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 1,922 cases, 84 hospitalizations and 14 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 102 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 136 one week earlier.
▪ Mount Baker: Had 26 new cases, no new hospitalizations and no new deaths reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 2,247 cases, 125 hospitalizations and 17 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 173 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 186 one week earlier.
▪ Nooksack Valley: Had 13 new cases, no new hospitalizations and no new deaths reported, increasing its pandemic totals to 2,673 cases, 113 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. Its weekly infection rate of 120 cases per 100,000 residents was down from 166 one week earlier.
