Bellingham hospital reports treating its fewest COVID-related patients since delta’s onset

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported Tuesday, Feb. 22, that it was treating its fewest number of COVID-related patients since the onset of the delta surge nearly 6½ months ago.

The hospital reported that 20 patients were being treated for COVID-related symptoms on Tuesday, which was the smallest daily snapshot reported since it had 19 on Aug. 7, 2021. In the 199 days since then, the hospital has reported an average of more than 35 COVID-related patients per day, The Bellingham Herald’s analysis found.

The county’s weekly hospitalization rate stands at 26.8 patients per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, which is up from 22.4 from one week earlier (Jan. 23 to 29), and the state reports Whatcom has the 21st highest hospitalization rate among the 39 counties in the state.

The weekly case rate during the week was 564 cases per 100,000 residents in the county between Feb. 6 and 12, the county reported. The state’s data shows Whatcom’s infection rate is the 19th lowest among the 39 counties in the state.