‘Very promising.’ Spread of Tri-Cities COVID cases may be easing

State and local public health officials are cautiously optimistic about the number of new COVID-19 cases they are seeing in the Tri-Cities area.

There were only 58 new cases reported on Thursday in Benton and Franklin counties, following 72 on Wednesday. Only a few weeks ago some days more than 200 cases were being reported, and over about the last week they have been averaging a little over 100 new cases confirmed a day.

The number of new cases might have peaked, said John Wiesman, the Washington state secretary of health, speaking in the Kadlec on Call podcast recorded Wednesday.

On Thursday, an official with the Benton Franklin Health District said there had been “steadying of new cases” and even a slight decrease.

“The last few days have been very promising,” said Rick Dawson, a senior manager for the local health district, at a news media briefing.

The rates are still “really high” in both Benton and Franklin Counties, Wiesman said, but he’s hopeful that more days of data could show a sustained decline in cases.

Public health officials say the effects of more people wearing face masks while shopping in the Tri-Cities may not be fully evident for another week or so.

But if more data confirms that the number of new cases has flattened out and are starting to drop, it may be due to the increased use of face coverings, Wiesman said.

A possible sustained flat or downward trend in new cases also reflects efforts city and county leaders have made to promote safe behaviors and the local health district’s outreach to the Hispanic population, said Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.

Improvements needed

However, there are still improvements that need to be be made in the Tri-Cities area, Wiesman said.

Last week’s survey of shoppers leaving eight grocery stores in Benton and Franklin counties found that 98% of people had masks, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

But Wiesman is concerned that too many people are not wearing masks in other settings, as people are staying home less.

“There are just some people who are not really paying attention to wearing face coverings in ... social environments,” he said.

Most counties in the state, including Benton and Franklin counties, have too much COVID activity currently to allow schools to safely reopen, Dr. Person said.

But Benton and Franklin counties have had people who stepped up and followed precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to help protect health care workers and to protect the elderly, who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

If people need more incentive to continue wearing masks, social distancing, staying home when sick and complying with any quarantine requests, they can do it for the schools, Dr. Person said.

The news was not all good on Thursday.

Another COVID death

Another death from complications of COVID-19 was reported in the Tri-Cities area, bringing the total for Benton and Franklin counties to 135.

The latest death was a Franklin County man in his 70s. Both his age and underlying health conditions increased his risk of a severe case of the disease.

Deaths now total 98 in Benton County and 37 in Franklin County.

The local health district does not add a death to its tally unless a person had tested positive for COVID-19 and their death certificate showed complications of COVID as a primary cause of death.

The number of patients hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 also was up to 68 in the two counties, as reported on Thursday. That’s an increase from 57 reported on Monday but down from 89 at the start of the month.

The patients being treated for COVID-19 — either with positive test results or with test results pending — accounted for slightly under 20% of total patients in hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The local health district reported on Thursday a relatively small number of people being tested, just 439, down from more than 900 the day before. More than 29,000 tests have been done in the two counties.

There has been a slowdown in conducting analyses for the coronavirus in test samples in some busy national labs, Wiesman said. That has been compounded by a shortage of materials for the chemical analysis.

State officials are encouraging clinics to use laboratories in the state, which have faster turnaround times, he said.

Contact tracing

Public health officials said at the news media briefing on Thursday that they had been hearing concerns about contact tracing that they wanted to clear up.

People have called the health district or posted on social media that they believe they have been exposed to the coronavirus by a person who tested positive, yet they had not been notified by a public health officials.

In some cases, public health officials may have determined they are not a close contact of the infected person.

The local health district contacts people they learn of who were within six feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes during the time the person may have been infectious, which includes the 48 hours before they developed symptoms, Dawson said.

In some cases, contact tracers may not be getting good quality information from the person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 about who may have been a close contact.

This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 2:01 PM.