Whatcom health department identifies more COVID cases associated with NW Washington Fair
The Whatcom County Health Department has identified 60 additional COVID-19 cases associated with Lynden’s 2021 Northwest Washington Fair since last week.
The health department is aware of 168 individuals who attended the 10-day event during their contagious or exposure period, the department told The Bellingham Herald in an email statement on Wednesday, Sept. 8. That’s up from the 108 cases it told The Herald it had identified last Thursday, Sept. 2.
It’s unclear how much transmission occurred at the fair, health department spokesperson Jennifer Moon said in the email. Therefore, it is not accurate to describe these cases as linked to or caused by the fair, Moon said.
However, the figure does highlight the importance of masking and taking other precautions when attending large events, whether indoors or outdoors, she said.
Whatcom County currently has a record-high infection rate, surpassing 12,000 reported cases and 120 coronavirus-related deaths over Labor Day Weekend, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
The Northwest Washington Fair was canceled last year due to the pandemic and returned this year for 10 days, from Aug. 12 to 21, rather than its usual six days. Although fair officials track attendance numbers, they previously declined to share this year’s numbers with The Herald.
The fair did not require masks this year but did roll out a contactless payment system, BlastPass, for concessions, in an attempt to limit exposure between vendors and attendees. The system was nixed after just one day, due to technical problems and customer and vendor frustration, The Herald previously reported.
The fair also achieved Global Biorisk Advisory Council Star accreditation, touting on its website that the fair “has implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention in its facilities.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
