Whatcom’s surpassing milestone a reminder ‘that the coronavirus isn’t done with us’

On the 512th day since it saw its first confirmed case of COVID-19 reported, Whatcom County surpassed 10,000 confirmed cases.

With 31 cases reported Wednesday, Aug. 4, Whatcom county surpassed the milestone with 10,009 confirmed cases, according to the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID dashboard. It becomes the 10th county in the state with at least 10,000 confirmed cases.

“We passed a promising milestone this week: seeing 70% of eligible Whatcom residents initiate vaccination,” Whatcom County Health Department spokesperson Scarlet Tang told The Bellingham Herald in an email. “But 10,000 COVID cases is a milestone that nobody wanted to pass."

The Whatcom County Health Department reported earlier this week that approximately 97.2% of all COVID cases in the county and 97.6% of all COVID-related hospitalizations from February through March were in unvaccinated residents.