71 Tri-Citians have now died of coronavirus. Two new deaths reported

Two more deaths from complications of COVID-19 were reported in the Tri-Cities area on Thursday, pushing the total to 71.

The number of known cases increased by 33 to 1,296, a one-day jump of close to 3%. The past three days had seen increases of around 1% to 2%.

The most recent deaths were a Franklin County woman in her 70s and a Benton County woman in her 80s. Both had underlying health conditions, that along with their age, made them more likely to have a severe case of COVID-19.

The new cases included some in healthcare workers and new cases in residents and staff of retirement homes and long-term care facilities.

No new cases were reported in workers at the Tyson beef processing plant south of Pasco on Wednesday, leaving the total for workers who commute there from the Tri-Cities area at 251. Three workers have died from the illness.

The number of healthcare workers working directly with patients in hospitals, clinics and long-term care homes who have been infected with the new coronavirus since the start of the pandemic increased by three to 179.

Local hospitals reported they had 36 patients, an increase of three in 24 hours, with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Those patients account for 14 percent of the people hospitalized in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

COVID-19 in nursing homes

The Tri-Cities area has had 178 residents of retirement homes or long-term care homes diagnosed with COVID-19, including three more added to the tally.

They account for 49 of the deaths, or 69%, from complications of COVID-19 in Benton and Franklin counties.

In addition two more staff members, for a total of 118, were reported to have had COVID-19.

However, infections in retirement communities and long term care facilities such as nursing homes appear to be slowing, said Rick Dawson, senior manager at the Benton Franklin Health District.

The Centers for Disease Control and federal officials have issued guidance calling for all long-term care residents and staff be tested for COVID-19 in the next two weeks.

The local health district previously arranged to have testing done in numerous Tri-Cities area facilities, and some additional testing may be done under the new federal guidance, Dawson said.

The health district already has worked on infection control with the homes and local emergency management is working to make sure they have adequate supplies of protective equipment for staff, he said.

Children’s syndrome

Two suspected cases of pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome have been reported in children in Washington state, according to Public Health of Seattle and King County.

However, the Benton Franklin Health District has received no information about any cases in the Tri-Cities.

The syndrome, which has features that overlap with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome, may be associated with COVID-19 in children, according to Seattle-area public health officials. It may appear days or weeks after a child is ill with COVID-19.

Symptoms include fever, abdominal symptoms and possible rash, which can progress to shock that requires intensive care within a hospital.

Hanford coronavirus case

A fourth case of COVID-19 has been reported in a Hanford nuclear reservation worker.

In this case, the person had not been on site since April 2 and usually works in the office building at 2620 Fermi Drive in Richland.

Just 10 to 15 percent of the 11,000 workers employed at the nuclear reservation near Richland are reporting to work on site to do mostly work considered essential for the safety of the public, workers and the environment. About 60 percent of employees are teleworking.

The site was closed to most workers starting March 23.

Brian Vance, the Department of Energy’s Hanford manager, said this week that most workers will continue to stay home next week for a ninth week.

Plans are being made for a phased reopening of the site to all workers, but no date has been set.

Preparations for a return to more normal operations are being made now by contractors, including putting up dividers between some work areas and reconfiguring offices and conference rooms to help workers maintain six feet of space from other workers.

Tri-Cities cases

The total COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic include 752 in Benton County and 544 in Franklin County.

About 80 percent of cases were confirmed with testing. Test results were not available for the others, but they had symptoms and close contact with confirmed cases.

The local health district does not have reliable information on the total number of tests for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area, nor does it use its limited staff time to track the number of patients who recovered.

This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 1:58 PM.