Whatcom County senior centers announce closings, cancellations due to coronavirus
Senior centers and senior programs throughout Whatcom County will be closing in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus throughout the region.
Senior centers in Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale and Lynden are canceling programs and closing their facilities beginning Thursday, March 12, while senior programs in Sumas, Everson, Point Roberts and Welcome will cancel beginning Monday, March 16, the Whatcom Council on Aging announced in a release late Wednesday, March 11.
“While we have not been instructed to close, we feel it is our responsibility to protect our at-risk population by limiting interaction at the time,” the council said in the release.
After announcing Whatcom County’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, March 10, The Whatcom County Health Department recommended that people of higher risk — such as those over 60, with underlying health conditions or with weakened immune systems — stay home and away from large groups of people.
The Health Department also recommending canceling or postponing non-essential large public gatherings.
It was those instructions in mind, the council said, that the decision to close the senior centers and programs was made.
“The health and safety of our community is a shared responsibility and one that we take seriously,” the council said in the release.
For that reason:
▪ The county’s senior centers will close beginning Thursday until further notice.
▪ The senior programs will close beginning Monday.
▪ The Congregate Lunch Program will close until further notice. Senior centers will provide meals for pickup up during regularly scheduled lunch hours, though no meal pickup will be available at the Welcome Senior Center.
▪ Meals on Wheels will continue as long as staffing and volunteer capacity allows.
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 12, 2020 at 8:04 AM.
