Base Camp deploys rapid COVID tests for admittance into Bellingham homeless shelter
The Bellingham Herald 12/18/2020 Kie Relyea, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Dec. 18 BELLINGHAM The operator of Base Camp is turning to rapid COVID-19 testing to help screen people who want to be admitted to the homeless shelter in Bellingham.
The shelter has been a little over half of its capacity in recent weeks, in part, because of restrictions Lighthouse Mission Ministries put into place after a COVID-19 outbreak was linked to Base Camp and Camp 210, a homeless tent encampment at City Hall and the Bellingham Public Library.
The low capacity was a concern for city of Bellingham and Whatcom County government officials, both of which have contributed funding for the shelter space to allow for social distancing during the new coronavirus pandemic.
Use of covid quarantine facility in Bellingham is at its highest. This is one reason why
The Bellingham Herald 12/17/2020 Kie Relyea, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
Dec. 17 BELLINGHAM The majority of the record 30 people staying at Whatcom County s COVID-19 quarantine and isolation facility are from homeless communities, according to the county.
Exactly how many people linked to two homeless communities are staying at the facility wasn t known, according to Amy Cloud, spokesperson for Whatcom Unified Command.
The quarantine and isolation facility at the former Motel 6 on Byron Avenue in Bellingham was opened in late April by unified command, the multi-governmental agency that s directing local COVID-19 pandemic response.
Whatcom sees an additional 26 COVID-19 cases and one death, state reports Wednesday
The Bellingham Herald 12/10/2020 David Rasbach, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.)
One death and 26 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Whatcom County, according to the Washington State Department of Health Wednesday, Dec. 9.
Whatcom County now has seen 2,763 confirmed cases and 54 related deaths during the pandemic, according to state data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8. That means that 2% of the Whatcom residents who have tested positive for COVID during the pandemic have died.
The state Department of Health data Wednesday also showed Whatcom County has had 159 hospitalizations (no change from Tuesday’s report).