Mask wearing should bring down soaring Tri-Cities COVID cases, health officials say

Coronavirus infections continue to surge in Benton and Franklin counties but health officials hope an increase in mask wearing will soon make a difference.

Public health officials have been pleased by the latest survey of people wearing masks in grocery stores, which found 95% compliance with the requirement to wear masks in public.

But it likely is too soon to see the full results of that, Rick Dawson, a senior manager at the Benton Franklin Health District, said at a press conference on Thursday.

A bicounty order to wear masks in public places, such as stores, was issued July 6 and was followed by a statewide order a day later.

The possible success of better compliance likely can be seen in two to three weeks, Dawson said.

Case numbers appear to have been boosted this week by contamination spread at large gatherings July 4 weekend and other gatherings around that time and earlier, he said.

Public health officials have seen cases jump within about two weeks after Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day and now the Fourth of July.

Large gatherings

The health district’s next goal will be to reduce large gatherings, said Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for the bicounty health agency.

The district plans an education campaign on avoiding gatherings, which are “very high risk for transmission,” she said.

The health district also is talking with cities about what can be done to prevent people from getting together, Dawson said.

“It’s not necessarily about breaking up gatherings. It is much better if we prevent them from happening,” he said.

People are using public areas such as parks to hold gatherings, from sports tournaments and practices to social events such as barbecues.

Business outbreaks

The health district also is seeing small outbreaks associated with workplaces and has eight to 10 staff members assigned daily to investigate them.

The small outbreaks are at all types of businesses, including those that have remained open throughout the outbreak and those that have just reopened, Dawson said.

Under a new state order, businesses must report to the local health district within 24 hours of learning they have two or more employees with COVID-19.

The health district is adding a portal for the reporting to its website

Reopening goals

When the two counties applied unsuccessfully to move to Phase 2 of reopening June 9 and 10, Benton County had 93 cases per 100,000 over 14 days and Benton County had 194 per 100,000

But those numbers have more than tripled since then, with Benton County having 345 cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks and Franklin County having 830 per 100,000 for the past two weeks.

The state’s goal is fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 as it considers applications to reopen.

But the good news is that hospital capacity has been maintained, said Dr. Person at a meeting of the Benton Franklin District Health Board on Wednesday.

The state Department of Health tracks the percent of licensed hospital beds being used by patients being treated for COVID-19. In the Tri-Cities, the percentage has averaged about 15%, both in early June and now, Dr. Person said.

“That is telling us that still even with the increasing cases we are not overwhelming our health care system, which is important,” she said.

Testing availability

Testing has risen dramatically since early June, which the state Department of Health has wanted to see.

About five to seven times more COVID-19 tests are being done daily in the two counties, due in large part to drive-thru testing sites at the Toyota Center in Kennewick and the HAPO Center, formerly TRAC, in Pasco, Dr. Person said.

But the goal set by the state is to see about 2% or fewer positive test results.

Instead, about 22% of people tested in the last week in Benton County were positive and 31% of tests in the last week in Franklin County were positive.

Also at the health district board meeting, the board, made up of the county commissioners for both counties, agreed to use state and federal funds provided by the Washington state Department of Health to hire four temporary employees for the health district.

Two workers will be hired to help coordinate resources for people in self isolation or quarantine, making sure they have food, can pay rent and are getting the social services they need.

The goal is to make sure people who may have COVID-19 have the resources they need to remain in their homes until they are not contagious.

The other two workers will be used to help current staff review plans for restaurants to reopen safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 12:59 PM.