BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Whatcom County Health Department will no longer report specific locations of possible public exposures to COVID-19.

The department says that while the number of lab-confirmed cases of the illness in Whatcom County are still relatively low, there is evidence of increasing spread in our community and there is currently risk to all community members.

Local and regional case and contact investigations indicate that people are being infected without contact to a known case and in people without a travel history, which the health department says suggests that there are numerous underlying cases in the community.