‘COVID-19 is not smarter than us,’ but hospital feeling impact of Whatcom’s recent surge

Whatcom County’s surge in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases isn’t just being seen in the daily data on the Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard — St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham is also feeling the increase.

The hospital has seen “nearly a four-fold” increase in the number of COVID patients it’s treating in just a week, PeaceHealth Regional Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sudhakar Karlapudi said during an online briefing by the Whatcom County Health Department Monday, Nov. 23.

“We are definitely seeing that surge at the hospital,” Karlapudi said.