The charts on our website showing the total number of confirmed cases in Whatcom County have been updated for the week beginning Sunday, April 26 to Saturday, May 2nd. 

There were 29 new cases of COVID-19 reporting during the past week, which is an increase from the previous week, when there were 12 new cases of COVID-19 (4/19 to 4/25). 

Many things could have contributed to the week over week difference. We can’t say for sure what the reason is, but here are some of our observations:

• Increased testing - Testing capacity in our community has continued to grow. We’re also now encouraging everyone with symptoms to contact their doctor and request a test. Previously we may not have known about these cases because tests were limited. 

• Clusters of disease - Our disease investigators have found that many of the new cases this week are part of clusters. This means that cases are associated with one another because they were close contacts of each other while in a particular setting. 

We had previously reported that 28 people had died due to COVID-19. All of these people were confirmed cases. Upon further investigation, we determined that one of these confirmed cases died of a cause other than COVID-19. Death data will continue to fluctuate as death records and medical records are reconciled during the investigation process. 

COVID-19 spreads when people are in close contact with one another. Governor Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order is extended until May 31st, 2020. It prohibits gatherings of any size in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and allow for a phased approach to reopen Washington State for business, more recreation, and travel. 

We’ll be able to get back to business as usual as we begin to see fewer cases and as individuals take steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our individual actions have an impact on our community and the state level response. Let’s continue to work together to earn each phase to reopen Washington State and show each other that we can keep our community healthy.