116 more Tri-Cities COVID cases. Too soon to see effects of masks, officials say

The Tri-Cities area has 116 more cases of COVID-19, the local health district said on Tuesday.

That’s similar to recent days, with an average of 114 cases reported daily in the last seven days.

There were no new deaths from complications of COVID-19 reported on Tuesday.

However, one death previously reported for Benton County was reassigned to Franklin County.

County death tallies reflect the county where the person lived, even if the person died in a hospital in another county. The largest hospital in the Tri-Cities, Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, cares for patients from other Mid-Columbia counties.

The death total for the two counties remains at 132, with 96 deaths of Benton County residents and 36 deaths of Franklin County residents.

The new cases reported on Tuesday included 64 in Benton County for a total there since the start of the pandemic of 2,948.

In Franklin County 52 additional cases were reported for a total of 2,845. The total cases for both counties is 5,973 since the start of the pandemic.

At this time, the Benton Franklin Health District is not tracking the number of cases still active.

Hospital cases

The number of people being treated in Benton and Franklin hospitals for COVID-19 increased to 64, which is up seven from the number reported on Monday.

However, 64 patients is still an improvement from the 82 patients being treated for COVID-19 in local hospitals as reported Thursday and Friday of last week.

The COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday — either with positive test results or awaiting test results — accounted for 20% of patients in hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

More than 27,000 tests for the coronavirus have been given in Benton and Franklin counties since the start of the pandemic. That includes only tests for active cases, not for antibodies that show a person may have previously been infected.

Public health officials are still watching for a possible drop in cases in Benton and Franklin counties as surveys show the number of people wearing face coverings has increased substantially.

Effect of masks

In late June a survey of people leaving grocery stores in the two counties found 53% had masks and that increased to 98% in the most recent survey.

Results could be reflected in case counts in a week or two, said local health district officials.

The Washington state Department of Health points out that Yakima County has reduced its spread of COVID-19 from the highest in the state to the only Washington state county where each person who gets COVID-19 spreads it to fewer than one other person on average.

Surveys done in Yakima County show that the percentage of people wearing masks there in stores increased from 35% in May to 95% now.

As Benton and Franklin health officials see more people wearing masks in the Tri-Cities, they also are concerned about continued large and small gatherings in the Tri-Cities area, including ones at which many participants don’t wear face masks.

No gatherings of nonhousehold members are allowed in Benton and Franklin counties, except for small behavioral health meetings, such as Alcohol Anonymous meetings limited to five or fewer people.

There also are more people in public places as limited reopening of businesses was allowed this month, including restaurants with outdoor dining and barber shops and hair salons. That increased activity could impact case counts, say public health officials.

The surest way to bring down counts to new COVID cases is by combining multiple methods to reduce transmission, including wearing face coverings, social distancing, avoiding gatherings, frequent handwashing and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces, say local health officials.

Washington state requires most residents to wear face coverings in public, including outdoors if they will be within six feet of nonhousehold members.

Starting July 7 businesses were ordered not to serve people who do not wear masks, with exceptions such as when people are seated at a table and eating.

For those who cannot wear a face covering, including for medical reasons, businesses are required to make reasonable accommodations such as offering delivery or curbside pickup, or scheduling an appointment when physical distancing can be ensured.