2 more coronavirus deaths in Tri-Cities area. 100 cases at Richland nursing home

The death toll in the Tri-Cities from complications of COVID-19 increased from 40 to 42 on Thursday.

The number of known cases increased by 3 percent, to 763 in Benton and Franklin counties on Thursday.

The 23 new cases included four in long-term care homes for the elderly, two in healthcare workers and four linked to the outbreak of the Tyson Fresh Meats plant near the Tri-Cities.

The newly reported deaths include a Benton County woman in her 80s and a Benton County man in his 90s.

Washington State Department of Health also had been reporting a fourth death in Franklin County that the Benton Franklin Health District had yet to confirm by its checks of death certificates.

On Thursday the local health district also announced that a Franklin County man in his 60s had died, for a total of 42 deaths — 38 in Benton County and four in Franklin County.

Nearly 75 percent of the deaths, or 31 people, lived in retirement or long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

That partially explains the high death count in Benton County, because Kennewick and Richland have most of the senior living homes in the Tri-Cities area.

Coronavirus deaths by age

Each of the 42 people who have died from complications of COVID-19 had underlying health conditions that made them more susceptible to serious complications. All but two were 60 or older, the age group most at risk.

The count now includes 12 victims in their 90s, 12 in their 80s, nine in their 70s, seven in their 60s and two in their 50s.

About 55 percent of those who died were men and 45 percent women.

Two more cases were reported in healthcare workers on Thursday, bringing the total to 128 since the start of the outbreak. They include workers in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 remained at 42 for the second day in a row on Thursday. They account for 13 percent of the hospitalized patients in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

Four more case were reported in Benton and Franklin county residents in the outbreak linked to Tyson Fresh Meats, a beef packaging plant south of Pasco in Wallula.

There are now 95 Tyson-linked cases in the Tri-Cities area, nine in Walla Walla County and one in Umatilla County, Ore.

Four more COVID-19 cases were reported in senior living and care centers for a total of 218 since the pandemic reached the Tri-Cities. Cases may be in residents or staff.

The most recent cases include two at Life Care Center of Richland, bringing its total to 100.

Hawthorne Court in Kenenwick had one more case for a total of seven and Life Care Center of Kennewick had one more case for a total of three.

Tri-Cities cases

The 763 total known cases reported by the local district in the Tri-Cities area include both cases confirmed by testing and probable cases, in which a patient had symptoms and close contact with a person with a confirmed case.

Benton County had 452 cases, including 100 probable cases. Franklin County had 311 cases, including 78 probable cases.

With hundreds of 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 23, 2020 at 1:41 PM.