With mask mandate over, Whatcom has reason to smile with lowest COVID rates since July

With Washington’s mask mandate now a thing of the past, as of Saturday, March 12, Whatcom County residents can now see each others’ smiles in public.

The Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard gave reason to smile Friday, March 11, as it showed Whatcom County is on the verge of seeing its COVID-19 weekly infection rate drop out of triple digits for the first time since the onset of the delta variant. Whatcom County’s current weekly infection rate for the most recently completed epidemiological data (Feb. 24 through March 2) stood at 107 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the dashboard. Though epidemiological data beyond that is incomplete and could change, the dashboard showed Whatcom’s weekly infection rate could dip below 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the next couple of days.

The last time the county saw a weekly rate that low was late July and early August, when it had a rate of 93 cases per 100,000 residents between July 27 and Aug. 2. Since then, Whatcom’s weekly rate has averaged approximately 378 new cases per 100,000 residents, The Bellingham Herald’s data analysis found.

St. Joseph’s hospital in Bellingham also reported it was treating four COVID-related patients on Monday, March 14, down from counts of six and five over the weekend. Monday’s count was the lowest the hospital has seen since it also treated four on July 22, 2021.