February 3, 2021 6:57 am
clipart.com
BELLINGHAM, Wash. A Bellingham family is devastated following the overdose death of a 16-year-old girl.
Relatives post that she had been feeling anxiety and tried to augment her prescription medication with Percocet she bought on the street in Bellingham.
The pills turned out to be counterfeits that contained the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Perry Mowery with the Whatcom County Health Department says fentanyl is a growing problem in many communities, including Bellingham.
He says they are seeing an increasing amount of fentanyl on the street.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an opioid addiction, help is available:
Whatcom s downtown jail sees first COVID-19 cases, but protocol changes prevent outbreak
The Bellingham Herald 2/3/2021 David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Feb. 3 A COVID-19 outbreak at the Whatcom County Jail s Work Center last month led to protocol revisions that helped prevent similar problems from occurring at the downtown jail.
Three individuals who were being booked into the jail last weekend tested positive for COVID-19, Whatcom County Sheriff s Office spokesperson Deb Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email, but because of the new booking protocols instituted following the outbreak at the Work Center, the general population at the jail was not exposed.
“Though the data is still preliminary, we are seeing the numbers trending down since then,” she said.
She says unsafe socializing is still the most common cause of transmission.
As far as vaccination efforts in Whatcom County, Amy Hockenberry, vaccine planning lead with the county health department, says residents who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine shot will likely be able to get the recommended second shot.
“While the week to week allocations are fluctuating, providers are receiving the second booster dose for that first group of doses that they got,” Hockenberry said.
She also says while there are no plans for a state vaccination center in Whatcom County, the county will be setting up public clinics as soon as they are confident in the vaccine supply.
Jan. 26 After setting record highs the week before, northern regions of Whatcom County saw their COVID-19 infection rates taper off last week, though they still remained more than double the rest of the county. The regions covered by the Lynden and Nooksack Valley school districts both still are averaging more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, .
As Whatcom schools report new COVID-19 cases, county sees 45 new positive tests Monday
The Bellingham Herald 1/26/2021 David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Jan. 26 Whatcom County saw 45 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported over two days by the Washington State Department of Health s dashboard on Monday, Jan. 25, but no new deaths were reported..
Overall, Whatcom County has seen 5,231 confirmed cases and 59 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, meaning 1.1% of all COVID cases in Whatcom County have been linked to a death.
Fifteen additional probable cases a decrease of two from Saturday s report have been reported in Whatcom County during the pandemic, resulting from positive antigen tests not confirmed by a molecular test.