Bellingham hospital reports fewest COVID patients since August, but Whatcom adds a death

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported Monday that it was treating its fewest number of patients for symptoms related to COVID-19 in more than seven months.

As of Monday morning, March 7, the hospital reported it was treating 11 COVID-related patients, which was down from weekend counts of 15 on Saturday and 14 on Sunday. The last time the hospital saw a daily snapshot as low as Monday’s was Aug. 4, 2021, when it reported 10 COVID-related patients.

In the 214 days since, the hospital has averaged treating 34 patients for COVID-related ailments per day, including a pandemic-record 79 patients on Jan. 18.

Not all the news was positive for Whatcom County, as another resident’s death has been linked to COVID-19, according to the state dashboard on Friday. Whatcom has now had 271 COVID-related deaths during the pandemic, including four reported last week.