At least 2 more coronavirus deaths in Tri-Cities. Hospitals busier as people don’t stay home

Two more deaths from complications of COVID-19 were reported by the Benton Franklin Health District on Thursday, bringing the total to 47.

However, the Washington state Department of Health is reporting an additional four deaths in Franklin County that have not been confirmed by the local health district. If all are confirmed, they would bring the death toll to over 50.

The deaths toll is rising as hospitals are busy.

Forty people were hospitalized in the two counties because of complications of COVID-19 on Thursday, which was up from 28 as recently as Monday.

Hospitals are treating more COVID-19 patients as some residents have chosen not to follow Gov. Jay Inslee’s order to stay home, said Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District.

“We are seeing more gatherings or people out in public ... not physically distancing from each other, not wearing masks” which can increase cases, she said.

As restrictions for outdoor gatherings lift, people should enjoy outdoor activities but continue to practice social distancing, said Rick Dawson, a senior manager at the Benton Franklin Health District.

Hospitals also say they are treating more patients for conditions other than COVID-19 because people fearful of exposure to the new coronavirus have delayed getting medical care for chronic conditions, said Person.

By the time they seek treatment, they may be sicker and require hospitalization.

And health officials are seeing more testing delays.

Tri-Cities area deaths

The Benton Franklin Health District reports 43 deaths of Benton County residents and four of Franklin County residents, with the state reporting eight deaths of Franklin County residents.

The local health district does not confirm deaths until it verifies the cause with a death certificate, meaning it takes longer to report deaths. In addition, the local health district may decide that some deaths in patients were not caused by COVID-19, even though they at one time might have had a known or suspected case of COVID-19.

The latest deaths reported by the local health district are both in Benton County residents.

They were a man in his 60s and a man in his 80s, both with underlying health conditions.

All people locally who have died from complications of COVID-19 had underlying health conditions. And all but two people who have died because of the new coronavirus locally were older than 60, another risk factor for severe cases of the disease. The youngest people to die in the Tri-Cities area were in their 50s.

However, Dr. Person cautioned that other areas of the nation are seeing some younger people with no underlying conditions hospitalized for serious cases of COVID-19.

Coronavirus testing

The number of known cases in the two counties, both confirmed and probable, increased to 914 from 899 on Wednesday, an increase of a little less than 2%.

However, the low percentage of new cases on Thursday and similar low percentages of new cases in recent days likely is the result of laboratory problems.

Some test results have been delayed because of an issue with a major laboratory serving Benton and Franklin counties, Dawson said.

That has resulted in a low number of positive cases reported Thursday, with a surge of reported cases expected as the issue is resolved.

The issue also has affected the test results at Tyson Fresh Meats, where 1,400 workers are being tested. Most of the testing done on Friday, April 24.

Four more cases in Tyson workers were reported on Thursday, bringing the total to 134, all but 10 in workers who live in Benton or Franklin counties.

One worker who lived in the Tri-Cities has died, but health officials for Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla said Thursday they were not aware of any other deaths linked to the new coronavirus in workers at the Tyson beef packing plant at Wallula south of Pasco.

While there are problems with one lab, Kadlec Regional Medical Center is reporting faster turnaround of testing there.

Some test results are available in an hour or two, which allows doctors to enroll patients who wish in clinical trials or quickly take actions to treat the patient, said Dr. Brian York, an infectious disease doctor for Kadlec clinics.

Kadlec has been enrolling some patients over the last four weeks in a clinical trial to investigate the antiviral medication remdesivir, which has shown some promise for treating COVID-19 patients.

The tests for the novel coronavirus are 75 to 80 percent accurate, with accuracy good for positive results, he said. If a negative result is received, but the care provider remains highly suspicious that the patient has COVID-19, a follow-up test that takes more time may be ordered, he said.

However, obtaining adequate supplies for collecting test samples for patients remains an issue, he said.

Antibody testing

Antibody tests are now available in the Tri-Cities.

They can show that a person has been exposed to the new coronavirus and the virus is recognized by the body. The body may not begin to make antibodies for 10 days to as long as three weeks, so they may show only previous exposure not current infections, York said.

The antibody tests are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, so some health insurance plans do not cover the cost, he said. However, about eight have received emergency use authorization from the FDA, but most have not, said the local district’s health officer.

Few of the antibody tests have been independently assessed for accuracy, including whether they can exclude antibodies to viruses causing colds, according to the local health district.

It is not recommending widespread antibody testing at this time. If people do get an antibody test, a reputable test site will have fact sheets with information available.

People who want to know if they should be given the antibody test should call their primary care provider, said Heather Hill,the communicable disease programs supervisor for the local health district, on a podcast this week for Kadlec Regional Medical Center.

There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19, says the Centers for Disease Control.

Workers at COVID-19 risk

The number of cases in residents and staff of nursing homes since the start of the outbreak remained at 239 on Thursday. One more case in a healthcare worker was reported for a total of 145 during the pandemic.

The local health district also is seeing cases of COVID-19 in other essential workers, but not enough to identify specific outbreaks, said Dr. Person.

“We do see cases in all fields of work ... food processing, farm workers, grocery stores, retail, banking.” she said.

“There is not a single industry that has not been affected,” she said. “That is something that is important for people to remember as everyone is kind of getting anxious to get back out there, that ... people having to work because they are essential workers are getting sick.”

Tri-Cities cases

Locally, case totals include 532 cases in Benton County and 382 in Franklin County

Most of the cases, 78 percent, have been confirmed with testing and the remainder are probable cases in people for whom test results were not available but who had symptoms and close contact with confirmed cases.

With cases topping 900 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 30, 2020 at 2:30 PM.