Deaths climb to 14. Masks recommended for Tri-Cities area residents to curb coronavirus

Residents of the Tri-Cities area should wear non-medical masks when they leave their homes to go grocery shopping, to work or to the doctor, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

It made the new recommendation to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as the number of reported deaths due to complications of COVID-19 in Benton and Franklin counties increased to 14. That was up from nine deaths reported on Thursday.

No additional deaths were reported on Saturday.

The deaths reported on Friday included the first for Franklin County, a woman in her 60s.

The new Benton County deaths reported included a woman in her 60s, a man in his 70s, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 90s.

The two people who died in their 60s were the first people under 70 to have deaths linked to COVID-19, reported the Benton Franklin Health District.

The number of known cases in the two counties increased from 235 on Friday to 256 on Saturday, a 9 percent increase.

Benton County had 193 cases and Franklin County had 63.

Benton County cases include 151 confirmed by testing for the new coronavirus and 42 additional probable cases for which testing was not done, but people developed symptoms after close contact with a person who tested positive.

Franklin County cases include 46 confirmed by testing and 17 additional probable cases.

Benton Franklin Health District has been reporting probable cases because of a shortage of supplies to test patients for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area, causing an inaccurate picture of the number of cases.

However, test results are being returned more quickly, leading to a surge of known cases this week.

Cases in senior homes

The number of known cases of COVID-19 in healthcare workers at hospitals, clinics or long-term care homes increased from 42 to 45 from Thursday to Friday, with no new information available on Saturday.

Affinity at Southridge in Kennewick, a retirement community for people 55 and older, had its first cases reported to the local health district, bringing the number of retirement and long-term care centers with cases to six as of Friday.

There were 82 known cases on Friday, up from 76 as of Thursday.

Regency Canyon Lakes in Kennewick has 32 cases, Life Care Center in Richland has 29 cases, Bonaventure Senior Living in Richland had 11 cases, Solstice Senior Living in Kennewick had seven cases, Affinity at Southridge had two cases, and Parkview Estates of Kennewick had one case.

Although the Benton Franklin Health District does not release information on where deaths occur, Solstice has said that one of its independent living residents has died, and Bonaventure has said that three of its independent living residents have died from complications of COVID-19

Independent living residents usually have apartments and do not receive care from the facility.

The health district continues to work with senior living centers and is following 13 of the homes, said Rick Dawson, a senior manager for the local health district.

It is working with homes that do not have a case both to prevent an outbreak and to make sure they have a plan in place should a resident become ill with COVID-19, Dawson said.

Of the cases in the Tri-Cities, 44 are in people older than 80. But no age group has been spared. There have been 19 cases in people 20 and younger.

Updated numbers on negative test results were not available on Friday or Saturday.

Masks recommended

Members of the public who leave their homes should cover their nose and mouth with a homemade mask, a fabric bandanna or neck gaiter, Dawson said.

Ski or bike masks that cover the nose and mouth or a scarf are also options.

Homemade masks can be made from T-shirts or a vacuum cleaner bag and the health district has posted links with instructions at bfhd.wa.gov.

Masks should be changed when moist and fabric masks should be washed after every use.

Medical-grade masks should continue to be reserved for health care workers, Dawson said.

“There is a shortage of medical-grade masks and it’s critically important that our healthcare workers have the equipment they need to do their jobs,” the Benton Franklin Health District said in a statement.

But nonmedical grade masks might offer some benefit, including if worn by those who may have the virus but show no symptoms of COVID-19.

Transmission of the new coronavirus is believed to occur mostly through droplets from an infected person, which fabrics may filter, the local health district said.

“This not only reduces the risk for a well person who can breathe in droplets, but also protects others around individuals with mild symptoms who may not yet realize they have the illness,” the district said in a statement.

Social distancing continues

The masks are not a substitute for social distancing, which remains the best way for people to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, said Dawson.

That means stay six feet away from people you do not live with, stay at home as much as possible and don’t go to gatherings, he said.

“It is hard not to see your family, but remember you are protecting them,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control also is expected to begin recommending masks for the general public.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the CDC “will now recommend that everyone wear face coverings in public settings, like pharmacies and grocery stores, to avoid unwittingly spreading the virus.

Public health officials have stressed that N95 masks should be saved for front line doctors and nurses, who have been in dire need of protective gear.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who had earlier demanded that people “stop buying masks” in a Feb. 29 tweet, said on NBC’s “Today” Show his earlier remarks had been based on the “best available evidence at the time,” but “we now know there is a significant amount of asymptomatic spread.”

Some areas have adopted general mask wearing, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urging his residents to wear nonmedical-grade masks, even bandannas, when in public running essential errands. Riverside County, California, also issued a similar advisory.

On Wednesday, Amazon restricted sales of medical-grade face masks solely to hospitals and government agencies just ahead of the expected CDC guidance.

The company, in a blog post Thursday, said all of its workers would be outfitted with masks by early next week.

This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 1:49 PM.