Whatcom County health reports Wednesday that 21 residents are being tested for coronavirus
A day after Whatcom County had its first confirmed case of COVID-19, Whatcom County has 21 tests for novel coronavirus with results pending, as of noon Wednesday, March 11, according to the Whatcom County Heath Department.
Seventeen tests returned with negative results.
The number of people with pending results was up from the 14 people in Whatcom County who were being tested as of Tuesday, March 10.
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 through the Whatcom County Health Department are being sent.
More than 121,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,300 deaths as of Wednesday morning, March 11, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1,100 confirmed cases with at least 29 deaths, most of them in Washington state.
So far, COVID-19 has spread to at least 38 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Washington State Department of Health website reported 29 deaths and 366 confirmed cases in the state as of Wednesday afternoon, March 11. Twenty-six people have died of COVID-19 in King County, two in Snohomish County, and one in Grant County. So far, confirmed cases have been found in Clark, Grant, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston and Whatcom counties. The list now also includes cases that are unassigned to counties.
Whatcom County’s first confirmed case was announced on Tuesday, March 10 and Whatcom County government declared a public health emergency to, in part, help curb the spread of COVID-19.
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 CDC 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 11, 2020 at 12:07 PM.