Could Benton County be near its COVID peak? 127 new cases in Tri-Cities area, 1 death

Benton County could be getting close to a peak of COVID-19 cases, based on the rate of new cases, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.

But the rate of new cases continues to rise at an increasing rate in Franklin County, and it is too soon to predict the peak in Benton County, she said.

On Thursday, the Benton Franklin Health District announced one new death in the Tri-Cities area from complications of the disease and 127 new confirmed cases for the two-county area.

That’s down from more than 200 cases announced on some days this month.

However, Dr. Person cautioned, as she has done before, that not too much should be read into one day or even a couple days of new case counts.

Benton County had 59 new cases Thursday and Franklin County had 68 new cases.

Although Franklin County has about half the population of Benton County, it has slightly more confirmed cases.

Public health officials will be watching the effects “of almost opposing forces” to see how new case numbers trend, she said.

More people were out in public because of the limited business reopenings that began July 3 and because of the July 4 holiday weekend, she said.

But more people appear to be wearing face coverings in public, such as at grocery stores, she said.

The effects of both factors may not be seen for a week or two, because of the lag between exposure and positive test results reported to the health district.

There did appear to be fewer gatherings over the July 4 weekend than on some previous weekends, said Rick Dawson, a senior manager at the health district.

However, many people attended two days of privately organized events open to the public in Basin City in Franklin County, including a rodeo, parade and dance parties.

New cases

The death from complications of COVID-19 that was reported Thursday was a Benton County man in his 90s. Both his age and underlying health conditions put him at increased risk of a serious case of COVID-19.

The local health district looks into each death, confirming that the person had tested positive for COVID-19 and that a death certificate showed that complications of the illness was the primary cause of death.

Deaths now total 84 in Benton County and 29 in Franklin County.

Benton County has had 2,183 confirmed cases in residents since the start of the pandemic, and Franklin County has had 2,207 cases. They total 4,390.

The number of people hospitalized continues to be about twice as high as reported on many days in May.

On Thursday, the local health district reported 71 patients being treated for COVID-19, either with positive test results or awaiting test results.

The cases accounted for 21% of the patients in hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

Public health officials would like to see about half that rate, said Dr. Person.

Reopening rules

Since businesses reopened Friday, July 3, the health district is getting questions about what is and is not allowed, Dawson said at a news conference Thursday.

The reopening is a modified Phase 1 with restrictions specific to Benton and Franklin counties that do not include all Phase 1.5 activities that have been allowed in some other counties.

House cleaning services still are not permitted.

Although outdoor recreation and fitness programs are allowed in some counties in Phase 1.5 for groups of five or fewer, they remain banned in the Tri-Cities area. That includes water recreation.

Sports tournaments, like the ones held in Leslie Groves Park in Richland, definitely violate Gov. Jay Inslee’s order and are “ultimately very, very irresponsible,” he said.

No gatherings are allowed with non-household members with the lone exception of meetings for counseling or behavioral health, such as Alcoholic Anonymous. A limit of five people is set.

Bars that do not serve food may not reopen yet.

There also has been confusion about outdoor dining.

Pasco, Richland and Kennewick have loosened rules to allow outdoor dining to be expanded, such as into parking areas, but currently seating capacity for outdoor dining is linked to the existing outdoor capacity when the modified Phase 1 took effect.

Social distancing also may prove an obstacle for the number of customers some businesses can serve.

Personal service businesses — hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and tattoo parlors — are limited to 25% of building capacity.

But they also must keep six feet distance among customers, which may require some to operate at less than 25% of building capacity, Dawson said.

Dog groomers face the same limits.

The new phased opening also allows stores considered nonessential to open at 15% of building capacity with a limit for each customer of 30 minutes inside the store.

This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 1:57 PM.