Four more Whatcom County residents are being tested for coronavirus
Four more people in Whatcom County are being tested for the new coronavirus, according to updated information on the Whatcom County Health Department website.
That brings to 10 the number of people tested in recent days to find out if they’re sick with the respiratory illness, according to updated information released by the county health department on Friday, March 6. That’s up from six on Thursday.
As of Friday morning, no one has tested positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom County.
In Whatcom County, results for 10 tests are pending. So far, three tests have come back negative.
Samples were sent to the Washington State Public Health Laboratory in Shoreline for testing.
The test numbers posted by the Whatcom County Health Department focus only on samples sent to the public health lab in Shoreline.
As of Friday morning, there also was one person under public health supervision.
People under public health supervision don’t have symptoms but are being asked to monitor their health because they were in close contact with someone known to have COVID-19 or because they traveled from affected geographic areas, or hot spots.
They are told to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days from the time of their exposure and to report to the health department if they develop symptoms of fever, cough or difficulty breathing, according to Melissa Morin, spokeswoman for the Whatcom County Health Department.
“They are not required to stay at home but they are instructed to limit their time in public,” Morin said to The Bellingham Herald.
COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is the name of the disease that first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, before spreading to other countries, including the U.S. It is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The disease is spread through contact between people within 6 feet of each other — what’s referred to as close contact — especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s possible to catch COVID-19 by touching something that has the virus on it, and then touching your own face, “but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
Symptoms may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Although 84% of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
So far, more than 101,000 cases have been reported worldwide, with about 3,400 deaths, the vast majority of them in China. In the U.S., at least 259 cases have been reported, including 14 deaths in Washington state out of 79 confirmed cases as of Friday morning.
The confirmed cases in Washington state were in King, Snohomish, Grant and Jefferson counties.
Larsen in Whatcom
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Washington state, met with public health officials in Whatcom, Island and Skagit counties in his 2nd Congressional District on Friday to discuss the response to COVID-19, local health department needs, and the $8.3 billion in emergency funding that he voted for earlier this week.
In Whatcom County, the main thing Larsen said he heard was the need for faster turnaround on samples sent in for testing.
“I think that turnaround time will improve but, right now, the state health lab and the University of Washington can conduct the analysis of the tests,” Larsen said to The Bellingham Herald, adding that a private consortium of labs will soon be able to analyze tests as well.
That will provide a greater capacity to turn tests around so there can be answers to whether someone is positive or negative for the virus, Larsen said. That also will be helped with the federal government’s promise to send more test kits, he added.
“Because we’re developing the capacity to test more people and the capacity to get those test results analyzed, it’s very likely that we’ll have more confirmed positive cases,” Larsen said. “But that should be seen as a positive from the public health perspective. That will help us target the response better.”
Graduation canceled
As concern grows about the widening outbreak in Washington state, Western Washington University announced on Friday that it was canceling the winter graduation ceremony for 691 students set for March 21.
Winter graduates will be included in the spring commencement ceremony, WWU announced.
“We want family members and friends to be able to celebrate their student’s accomplishments with confidence and joy,” the university said in a release.
We currently have 646 undergraduates and 45 graduate students set up to graduate for winter 2020.
WWU also will cancel other large events scheduled for the Bellingham campus for the next three weeks.
“Our priority must be to ensure that our core missions of education, research and scholarship, and service can be carried out safely and effectively,” the university said.
The university isn’t canceling classes at this time.
Stay informed
▪ https://whatcomcounty.us/ncov. Email general questions about COVID-19 in Whatcom County to covid@co.whatcom.wa.us.
▪ doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus. Call a hotline at 1-800-525-0127 and then press # for questions about what is happening in Washington state, how the virus spreads, and what to do if you have symptoms.
▪ cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
▪ cob.org/services/safety/emergencies/Pages/covid-19.aspx
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
