4 more Tri-Cities coronavirus deaths. More cases at Tyson beef plant

The death toll from complications of COVID-19 reached 36 in the Tri-Cities area on Thursday, with two more deaths announced by the Benton Franklin Health District.

In addition, the state is reporting two other deaths, that local officials have yet to verify, which would bring the total to 38.

For the second day in a row, one of the deaths was a person in their 50s, the two youngest deaths reported in Benton and Franklin counties so far.

Ten more workers associated with the Tyson Fresh Foods beef plant in Wallula south of Pasco have COVID-19.

There are now 57 cases in the Tri-Cities, Burbank and Wallula areas tied to the outbreak at Tyson.

Most, if not all cases in the workplace outtbreak, are employees at the plant in Walla Walla County.

The biggest challenge in the Tri-Cities area continues to be with its long-term care facilities, said Dr. Amy Person, the Benton Franklin District Health officer, at a district board meeting Wednesday.

Nursing home and other senior living homes reported more COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with the number of homes reporting cases from exposure to the new coronavirus jumping from seven to 10 in the Tri-Cities.

There are now 176 cases in 10 retirement and long term care homes, including 93 in Life Care Center of Richland. There were 171 known cases a day earlier. They include both residents and staff.

Four more healthcare workers were added to the tally of those known to have had COVID-19, bringing the total to 106 infected healthcare workers in the two counties, a 4 percent increase from the day before.

The total known cases in the Tri-Cities area from the beginning of the outbreak increased 5 percent to 571 on Thursday.

Cautious optimism

On Wednesday there was an increase in known cases of just 2 percent and on Tuesday the increase was 4 percent.

Local health officials have started to make some cautiously optimistic statements, as the percentage increase in cases in the Tri-Cities area may have slowed some this week.

“We continue to see cases coming in, for sure,” said Heather Hill, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast. “We feel like they are perhaps slowing down a little. But it’s really too soon to tell.”

It cannot be called a trend based on a few day’s cases, she said.

Tri-City area hospitals are reporting they are not seeing as many people hospitalized with COVID-19, said Dr. Person on Wednesday.

“They’ve been able to keep up with it as far as their capacity,” she said.

The health district reported 35 people hospitalized in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals with COVID-19 or symptoms that are suspicious for infection with the new coronavirus.

They account for 12 percent of the patients in Benton and Franklin county hospitals.

Part of the continuing new cases in the community may be a reflection of the hospitals testing more people, but not necessarily people who are becoming seriously ill, Person said.

Dr. Brian York, an infectious disease specialist at Kadlec clinics, said medical professionals have much more knowledge about the new coronavirus than when the outbreak began.

“We have seen the curve flatten in a lot of places and we’ve seen it flatten in places that have taken fairly different approaches to mitigation,” York said.

“So I think we’re finding the overall effects of the pandemic may not be as devastating as first feared. And I think a lot of that is due to the mitigation strategies that have been employed,” he said.

He said he was optimistic “that things are going to be much better over the next few weeks.”

Long-term care concerns

However, the outbreaks in long-term care facilities continue to be frightening for residents and staff, Hill said.

Too often the cases end tragically, with the community losing “the grandpas, the grandmas, the elderly who have been in our community for years,” she said.

The majority of deaths in the Tri-Cities area — 75 percent — have been tied to long-term care homes and retirement centers. Of the 36 deaths reported by the local health district, 27 are associated with the homes for the elderly.

The three new senior living homes with cases Thursday were Fleur De Lis II adult family home in Kennewick with two cases; Hawthorne Court in Kennewick, which offers independent and assisted living, with one case; and Avalon Health and Rehabilitation, a Pasco nursing home, with one case.

In addition to those homes and the Richland Life Care, Regency Canyon Lakes in Kennewick had 52 cases, Bonaventure Senior Living in Richland had 13 cases, Solstice Senior Living in Kennewick had nine cases, Affinity at Southridge in Kennewick had three cases, and Parkview Estates in Kennewick and Tri-Cities Retirement Inn in Pasco each had a case.

All but two deaths in Benton and Franklin counties reported by the local health district have been in Benton County residents, in part because Benton County has the majority of senior living homes in the Tri-Cities area.

However, the Washington state Department of Health is reporting an additional two deaths in Franklin County, which the Benton Franklin Health District has not yet confirmed through checking death certificates. They appear to be in addition to the 36 deaths reported by the local health district.

Age and health issues

The two most recent deaths reported by the local health district were Benton County men in their 50s and 70s.

People ages 60 and older or with underlying health conditions, such as heart or lung disease or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious complications from COVID-19.

All 36 people who have died in the two counties had underlying health conditions, in addition to all but two being in their 60s or older.

The total deaths now include nine victims in their 90s, 11 in their 80s, nine in their 70s, five in their 60s and two in their 50s. They include 16 women and 20 men.

The Benton Franklin Health District has been working closely with long-term care and retirement homes, Hill said.

As soon as there is one case or even a suspected case, the local health district reacts as if it is an outbreak, she said.

“All it takes is one case to know there (may be) many more possible cases within a facility,” she said.

The district advises senior care homes to group infected patients in one area of the facility and have some staff limited to just their care, to help prevent the spread throughout the facility, she said.

Testing supplies received by the local district from the Department of Health are being used to check residents in long-term care homes, amid a nationwide shortage of new coronavirus testing supplies.

The health district long-term care team also is working with homes on their cleaning and sanitizing methods and helping them acquire protective equipment, such as masks, for their workers from emergency management agencies.

Tri-Cities area cases

The case breakdown as of Thursday in the Tri-Cities area was 364 cases in Benton County and 207 cases in Franklin County.

Benton County cases include 283 confirmed by testing for the new coronavirus and 81 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 152 confirmed by testing and 55 additional probable cases.

With more than 500 cases in the two counties, Benton and Franklin health officials say they do not have the staff to determine how many cases are active and how many people have recovered.

Much of the local health district’s staff time is used to identify and notify close contacts of COVID-19 patients to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, with staff assigned to work seven days a week.

This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 2:43 PM.