Whatcom passes 25,000 COVID cases in pandemic, adds 24 new hospitalizations and 2 deaths

Whatcom County surpassed 25,000 total COVID-19 cases during the pandemic Thursday, as the state reported 456 new cases along with 24 new hospitalizations and two more deaths related to COVID.

The 456 cases reported Thursday, Jan. 13, on the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard included 370 new confirmed cases, resulting from a positive molecular test, and 86 new probable cases resulting from a positive antigen test not confirmed by a molecular test. The county has had 23,003 confirmed cases and 2,365 probable cases throughout the pandemic, according to the state. Whatcom’s weekly infection rate also climbed to a record high for a ninth-straight day, as the county had 954 cases per 100,000 residents for the most recently completed epidemiological data from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4. That is up from 392 a week earlier (Dec. 22-28) and from 199 two weeks earlier (Dec. 15-21).