Number of COVID patients at Bellingham hospital decreases by half over holiday weekend

The number of COVID-related patients being treated by St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham shrank by half over the holiday weekend.

The hospital reported that it was treating 10 patients for COVID-related symptoms on Tuesday, June 21, its lowest daily snapshot since it had a four-day string of single-digit patient loads in late May (May 27-30). It’s also less than half the 21 COVID-related patients it reported on Thursday, June 16, and the 20 it reported on Friday.

Over the past week, the hospital has averaged reporting 16.9 patients per day, which represents 6.7% of its 252 inpatient beds and was down from the 19.3 average from one week earlier (June 7-13).

Whatcom had a weekly infection rate of 257 new COVID cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from June 1-7, which was up from a rate of 219 one week earlier (May 25-31).