Coronavirus death toll in Tri-Cities area rises to 78. New cases still grow
The count of deaths from complications of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area increased to 78 deaths on Friday, with one new death reported.
The number of new known cases rose by 21 to bring the total in Benton and Franklin counties to 1,437. It was a one-day increase of about 1.5%.
Daily increases have ranged from about 1% to about 3% each day for more than a week.
Statewide, 19,117 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed and 1,044 people have died from complications of the disease, according to the Washington state Department of Health.
The latest death in the Tri-Cities area was a Benton County man in his 70s, said the Benton Franklin Health District.
He was at risk of a serious illness from infection with the new coronavirus both because of his age and because he had underlying health conditions, according to information from the local health district.
All but four of the 78 local deaths have been in people 60 or older and all but three people who died had underlying health conditions.
The deaths include 61 Benton County residents and 17 Franklin County residents.
The number of hospitalized patients with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 increased by one to 39, the health district said Friday. As many as 40 people have been hospitalized at once this month.
The current 39 patients account for 14% of the hospitalized patients in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.
The state Department of Health reports that at least 179 residents in the Tri-Cities area have been hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
COVID-19 outbreaks
Two more healthcare workers have been diagnosed with COVID-19, bringing the total to 198. They include workers caring for patients at hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.
The new cases reported on Friday included a resident of a retirement or long-term care home, bringing total cases in the local homes since the start of the pandemic to 185. In addition, 124 staff at the homes have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
About 70% of the deaths in the two counties — 55 of 78 — have been associated with the homes.
Residents of the homes are particularly vulnerable to serious cases of COVID-19 both because of their age and likelihood of underlying conditions and also communal living where viruses can spread.
Public health officials have worked closely with the homes on practices to control the spread of the new coronavirus.
The other outbreak the public health officials have been tracking is in workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats beef processing plant south of Pasco. The number of workers testing positive who live in Benton and Franklin counties has remained at 251 for more than a week.
Two cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children have been reported in western Washington, but none in Benton and Franklin counties. Children with the syndrome have had COVID-19 within recent weeks and then developed inflammation and severe illness.
The breakdown of all known cases include 811 in Benton County and 605 in Franklin County.
About 80% of the known cases have been confirmed by testing. Test results are not available for the remainder, but patients had symptoms and close contact with a confirmed case.
Reopening guidance
The health district is not currently reporting how many people have recovered from COVID-19 and how many cases are active.
It is focusing much of its staff efforts on determining who newly diagnosed patients may have exposed to COVID-19 and alerting those close contacts.
They also are providing guidance to businesses working on plans to reopen, if businesses request it. However, the district is not authorized nor does it want to take enforcement action against businesses.
It has developed a COVID-19 safety plan template to help guide businesses. It is posted at bit.ly/BFbusinesses.