Whatcom County health reports Tuesday that 15 residents are being tested for coronavirus
Whatcom County continues to have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of noon Tuesday, March 10, according to the Whatcom County Heath Department website.
The department reports there are 15 tests for novel coronavirus with results pending and eight tests returned with negative results.
That’s down from the 17 people in Whatcom County who were being tested as of Monday, March 9.
Those being tested have symptoms and are in isolation pending their test results.
For now, it takes about 48 to 72 hours for test results to come back from the state public health lab in Shoreline, which is where samples approved for testing by the Whatcom County Health Department are being sent.
More than 118,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,200 deaths as of noon Tuesday, March 10, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 800 confirmed cases with at least 28 deaths, most of them in Washington state.
The Washington State Department of Health website reported 24 deaths and 267 confirmed cases in the state as of Tuesday afternoon, March 10. Twenty-two people have died of COVID-19 in King County, one in Snohomish County, and one in Grant County. Confirmed cases have been found in Clark, Grant, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
About coronavirus
COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is the name of the illness 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 six 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 — cough, fever, difficulty breathing — may occur two days to two weeks after exposure. Although most of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
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 10, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
