Whatcom County declares public health emergency over coronavirus
A Whatcom County public health emergency has been declared to reduce the spread of novel coronavirus in the community after the county health department announced on Tuesday afternoon, March 10, that the county had its first confirmed case of COVID-19.
The person who tested positive is a woman in her 60s who received medical care at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.
Her condition improved and she was discharged. Since that time she has been self-isolating at home. She has no known international travel history, the health department announced.
“This positive case confirms that COVID-19 is circulating in our community,” said John Wolpers, an incident commander with the Whatcom County Health Department, in a briefing on Tuesday.
Citing patient privacy laws, health department officials declined to say more about the woman or where in Whatcom County she lives.
In response to the first confirmed case of what also is called the novel coronavirus, Satpal Sidhu, the Whatcom County executive, on Tuesday declared the public health emergency. He did so in coordination with the Whatcom County Health Board.
Declaring an emergency facilitates coordination with local and statewide partners, officials said, adding that it helps them provide a comprehensive Whatcom County response to the outbreak.
On Tuesday, the health department also issued new recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including canceling or postponing non-essential large public gatherings and encouraging businesses to allow their employees to work from home if possible.
It did not, however, recommend school closures although the department noted that decision is up to school districts in Whatcom County.
The Whatcom County Health Department was working aggressively to identify all those who may have come into contact with the woman who had the first confirmed case of COVID-19 here, officials said.
Close contacts may include family members, co-workers, emergency responders and others. Once identified, they will be closely monitored for symptoms to avoid further spread, the health department said.
“We understand that news of this first confirmed case in our community creates fear and uncertainty. Our public health team is working intensively to investigate the case, identify close contacts, and coordinate with our medical and community partners to protect public health,” said Dr. Greg Stern, Whatcom County Health Officer, in a statement.
“We are particularly thankful for the Whatcom County medical community, which has been in close communication with us about evaluating specific patients and implementing evolving guidelines,” Stern said.
Despite the additional measures people are being asked to take after the first confirmed case, Wolpers said that the risk to the public was still relatively low, though increasing.
To become infected by the virus that causes COVID-19, he said that people have to be in close contact with someone who is sick with the illness. That’s someone who lives in the same home, is caring for someone who is sick, is within six feet of someone sick with COVID-19 for about 10 minutes, or is in direct contact with respiratory droplets from someone who is ill.
Otherwise, you’re at low risk for infection, Wolpers said.
Health recommendations
So what should Whatcom County residents do now?
“We know that this is a difficult time for our community and these recommendations will significantly impact our daily lives,” Stern said in a statement. “The decision to make these recommendations was made based on the best public health science, which tells us that these actions are needed to reduce further transmission of disease in our area.”
The steps people are being asked to take are based on the increasing risk of the spread of COVID-19, Whatcom public health officials said, and match similar recommendations made by other health departments in the region.
They include:
▪ People who are at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places where there are a lot of of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. This includes concert venues, conventions, sporting events and crowded social gatherings.
People who are at higher risk include those who are older than 60; have underlying health conditions that include heart disease, lung disease or diabetes; have weakened immune systems; and who are pregnant.
▪ As for public gatherings, officials said to avoid bringing together large groups of people — loosely defined as 10 to 50 people or more — if possible.
“Realistically there is no magic number,” Cindy Hollinsworth, the communicable disease and epidemiology manager for the health department, said Tuesday in the briefing. “The larger the group, the higher the risk of spreading illness.”
▪ Employees who can’t work from home should minimize their interaction with large groups of people.
Personal steps
County residents also are being asked to take these measures to help keep the respiratory illness from spreading:
▪ If you’re sick, stay home.
▪ If you’re sick with a cough and fever, don’t go back to work until 72 hours after your fever has gone away or seven days after the illness began, whichever is longer.
Employers are being urged to maximize their flexibility in sick leave benefits to accommodate these measures.
▪ If you’re sick with respiratory symptoms — coughing or sneezing — wear a mask when in public.
▪ Don’t go to emergency rooms or urgent care clinics if your illness is mild, so that health care providers can help those who have the most critical needs. Limiting unnecessary visits also protects health care workers and other patients from infection.
▪ Even if you are feeling well, avoid visiting hospitals, long-term care facilities or nursing homes. If you must go to those places, check the facility’s rules for visitors before showing up, don’t stay for too long, and keep at least six feet between you and patients at all times.
On Tuesday, Skagit County also reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a resident there.
Skagit County Public Health said the person was a woman in her 40s who was in isolation at home, adding that she appeared to have acquired COVID-19 through community transmission.
More than 118,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,200 deaths as of Tuesday evening, March 10, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 972 confirmed cases with at least 28 deaths.
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 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 — 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 4:26 PM.