21 Tri-Cities coronavirus deaths now among the highest in the state

Three more deaths from complications of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area were reported by the Benton Franklin Health District on Tuesday, bringing the total to 21.

In more encouraging news, testing supplies for the new coronavirus are now more available.

And more capability to run tests, including rapid tests that give results in a matter of minutes, should be available in the next couple of weeks, according to the health district.

Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland has previously said that it had equipment and was pursuing supplies for rapid new coronavirus testing in its hospital and clinics.

The testing is being validated now in the Tri-Cities and should be available soon to both hospital and non-hospital patients in the Tri-Cities, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District.

Similar to a strep test, results should be returned in minutes, not days, she said.

In addition, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a Department of Energy research laboratory in Richland, is working to start analyzing test samples in addition to research, she said.

Testing, although more readily available in the last week or so in the Tri-Cities area, still does not approach the level of testing that is being done in many other counties, the local health officer said.

The number of known cases in the Tri-Cities area jumped just 2.5 from Monday to Tuesday.

COVID-19 cases in elderly

Elderly people in the Tri-Cities continue to be hard hit by the new coronavirus.

Two-thirds of the deaths in Benton and Franklin counties have been in senior living facilities, said Rick Dawson, a senior manager with the local health district.

The number of cases in residents and staff in senior living facilities — including retirement homes, nursing homes and other long-term care homes — increased to 109 on Tuesday, up from 104 a day earlier.

Just three counties in the state had reported more deaths as of Monday than Benton County. They were King with 220, Snohomish with 55 and Whatcom with 19. There is a slight lag in state reporting of deaths by county.

The Tri-Cities area has a significantly higher percentage of cases in people older than 80 than the state as a whole, the local health officer said.

Elderly people are at high risk of developing life-threatening complications from COVID-19.

Statewide about 10 percent of cases are in people 80 and older, and in Benton and Franklin counties they account for 17 percent of cases, she said.

The most recent deaths included two Benton County women in their 80s and a Franklin County woman, also in her 80s.

The total deaths now include five people who were in their 90s, eight in their 80s, four in their 70s and four in their 60s.

Tri-Cities area case totals

The number of known cases in the two counties increased to 324 on Tuesday, up from 316 on Monday, or 2.5 percent

Benton County had 226 cases and Franklin County had 98 cases, according to the Tuesday report.

Benton County cases include 176 confirmed by testing for the new coronavirus and 50 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 70 confirmed by testing and 28 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.

As testing has increased, both the state Department of Health and the Benton Franklin Health District have had trouble tracking negative test results and local testing numbers have not been available in recent days.

The health district has 26 staff and volunteers assigned to identifying the close contacts of new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases to alert people they were in contact with that they may have been exposed and should self-quarantine.

The number of known cases in employees of healthcare facilities remained at 72 on Tuesday. They could include workers at hospitals, clinics and nursing or other long-term care homes.

Long-term care cases

The number of cases among staff and residents in long-term care homes and retirement homes increased from 104 on Monday to 109 on Tuesday.

To prevent cases from spreading to new facilities, testing in retirement and long term care homes has become a priority, Person said.

Cases have been reported in six facilities, with no additional facilities added to the list on Tuesday.

Regency Canyon Lakes of Kennewick has had 45 cases and Life Care Center of Richland has had 40 cases. Both are nursing homes, providing long term care to some of the area’s must vulnerable residents.

Bonaventure Senior Living of Richland has had 13 cases, Solstice Senior Living of Kennewick had eight cases, Affinity at Southridge in Kennewick had two cases and Parkview Estates in Kennewick had one case.

Testing and supplies

Drive through testing has yet to come to the Tri-Cities, but could be set up in the future, Dawson said.

However, he cautioned that drive-through testing still typically requires an order by a doctor or other medical professional and an appointment.

Kadlec already has a system similar to drive-through testing.

It is offering testing of all of its hospital and clinic patients who have a health provider order at a tent set up at Kadlec Urgent Care at 4804 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick, on weekdays.

The shortage of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers has been eased some, with a shipment of state supplies, but they may not last long.

Washington state sent 24,000 surgical masks, 1,400 gowns and 1,200 N95 respirator masks at the start of the week to be distributed to hospital employees and first responders, said Deanna Davis, emergency manager of Benton County Emergency Services.

However, that supply may only last for a few days, she said.

The public continues to be asked to donate supplies, with the need greatest for masks and face shields, she said.

They can be dropped off at Franklin County Emergency Management, 1011 E. Ainsworth St., Pasco. It has been open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or people may call 509-545-3546 to arrange a time to drop off donations.

The Tri-Cities area seems to have an adequate, if not an abundant, supply of ventilators for the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients now, Dawson said, relying on reports from local hospitals.

The three Tri-Cities hospitals have not responded to Herald requests for specific information about their ventilator supply.

If the pandemic eases in western Washington, where it hit earlier, some ventilators could be moved to the Tri-Cities area, Dawson said.

Tri-Cities peak?

COVID-19 cases may have already peaked or could peak this week in parts of Western Washington, where the outbreak started first in the state, but it is too soon to say when cases could peak in the Tri-Cities area, according to health officials.

It’s also too soon to tell whether Tri-Cities area residents will comply with a recommendation made on Friday by the health district that they wear face coverings in public places where they may be less than six feet away from people, Dawson said.

But there is some anecdotal evidence that residents are spending less time in public places, he said. Traffic counts have dropped, he said.

The best way to slow the spread of the new coronavirus continues to be keeping six feet away from people you do not live with, frequent and thorough hand washing, not touching your face and wearing a cloth mask or other covering for the nose and mouth in public, Dawson said.

The limited supply of N95 respirator and surgical masks should be saved for health care workers and first responders who may have close contact with people infected with the new coronavirus.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 1:27 PM.