2 more Tri-Cities coronavirus deaths. Known cases top 1,400

The total deaths from complications of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area reached 77 on Wednesday with two more deaths announced by the Benton Franklin Health District.

Cases increased by 22 to 1,401, an increase of just under 2%. Increases have ranged from about 1% to about 3% for at least a week.

The two most recent deaths were two Benton County women in their 90s with underlying health conditions, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

Statewide there have been 1,031 deaths from complications of COVID-19 and 18,811 known cases, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

Close to half the deaths statewide and in the Tri-Cities have been in people 80 and older.

The newly reported infections with the new coronavirus include six more healthcare workers who care for patients at places like hospitals, clinics or nursing homes or whose jobs potentially expose them to bodily fluids.

They bring the total number of healthcare workers diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic to 195. They account for 14% of the known cases in the Tri-Cities area.

No new cases were reported in residents of retirement or long-term care homes in the Tri-Cities area on Wednesday. However, two more staff members were diagnosed for a total of 124.

The number of residents with COVID-19, including 54 who have died, is 184.

They account for 13% of the known cases in the Tri-Cities area. The deaths are 70% of those in the Tri-Cities area.

Statewide a larger percentage of total cases, 19%, have been linked to long-term care facilities, but a smaller percentage of deaths, 62%.

Those statistics do not include retirement homes, which the local health district includes in its statistics with long-term care homes.

Hospitalized cases

The number of patients hospitalized in Benton and Franklin counties with known or suspected cases of COVID-19 increased by one to 36 on Wednesday. They account for 13% of hospitalized patients in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals has been as high as 40 this month.

Hospitals have not released information on patient conditions or the number being treated in intensive care units.

The Tri-Cities area deaths include 60 in Benton County and 17 in Franklin County.

The majority of nursing homes and retirement communities in the Tri-Cities area are in Benton County, rather than Franklin County.

The known cases include 808 in Benton County and 593 in Franklin County.

Cases broken down by decade of age show that most known cases are in people in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

Each of those age groups have at least 225 known cases. Some of the higher rates in those age groups may be due to testing of about 1,400 workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant south of Pasco.

Many of the Wallula plant workers commute from the Tri-Cities, and 251 living in the Tri-Cities area have tested positive for COVID-19 since late March.

They account for 18% of the known cases in the Tri-Cities area.

The Benton Franklin Health District has reported no new cases of Tri-Cities area residents who work at the plant since May 13.

The local health district does not track the number of recovered cases, concentrating much of its staff time on reaching out to and notifying close contacts of new cases that they may have been infected.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 2:26 PM.