2 more COVID deaths in Tri-Cities area. New cases slowed over weekend

Two more people have died of complications of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area, including a man in his 40s with no known health issues.

The death of the Franklin County man was the second death from COVID in the Tri-Cities of a man in his 40s with no known underlying conditions that would have increased the risk of severe illness.

The two deaths reported on Monday bring the total deaths from infection with the coronavirus in Benton and Franklin counties to 147.

The second death reported on Monday was a Benton County man in his 70s. Both his age and underlying health problems put him at risk of a severe case of the disease.

The number of new infections reported on Monday for the past three days continued the recent trend of declining cases in recent weeks, according to data from the Benton Franklin Health District. Last week it reported that new cases were down about a third from their peak earlier this summer in Franklin County and down about a quarter in Benton County.

On Monday the health district reported 151 cases for the past three days, or an average of 50 per day for the bicounty area. It does not report cases from the weekend until Monday.

For Benton County, Saturday had 24 new confirmed cases reported, then 8 for Sunday and 24 for Monday.

Franklin County had 37 new confirmed cases as of Saturday, 20 for Sunday and 38 for Monday. Totals were 56 for Benton County and 95 for Franklin County.

The state has set targets of no more than 24 total cases in two weeks for Franklin County and a maximum of 50 in Benton County during two weeks.

The total number of confirmed cases for the two counties since the start of the pandemic is 7,288, including 3,746 in Benton County and 3,542 in Franklin County.

Benton, Franklin, Yakima and Spokane counties are among the seven in Washington state to have more than 3,500 cases.

The others are King, Snohomish and Pierce in Western Washington, according to the state Department of Health’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard, last updated on Saturday.

The next highest case count is in Clark County in Western Washington, with 1,777 cases as of Saturday.

Deaths, hospitalizations

The deaths reported since the start of the pandemic by the local health district include 107 in Benton County and 40 in Franklin County, which has about half as many people and a smaller percentage of older residents.

The numbers include only people who had positive test results for COVID-19 and death certificates that showed that a complication of the disease, such as acute respiratory stress syndrome, was the cause of death.

Data on how many people were tested in recent days was not available Monday.

The number of patients being treated in local hospitals for COVID-19 continued to be comparable to numbers seen in May, another promising sign that new cases are on a downward trend.

Numbers of hospitalized patients were as high as the 80s on some days this summer.

The 36 patients being treated for COVID-19 accounted for just under 13% of all patients in hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

Testing changes

Starting Tuesday, Aug 11, hours will change for the drive-thru COVID-19 testing being done by the Washington National Guard, in cooperation with local and state agencies.

Testing will be 7 a.m. to noon at the Toyota Center in Kennewick and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the HAPO Center, formerly TRAC, in Pasco. Testing is done at both sites Tuesdays through Saturdays.

The earlier hours are intended to help avoid the summer heat.

No medical orders are required and the testing is free. Anyone with health insurance is asked to bring their insurance card, but no one will be denied testing for lack of insurance.

The testing is open without appointment to anyone who believes they should be tested, says the Benton Franklin Health District.

Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 or who has been exposed to the coronavirus are urged by the health district to be tested.

Results will be available by phone or text in three to seven days, with written results in about 10 days.

Information on other places that offer COVID testing in Benton and Franklin counties is posted at bit.ly/TCtestingsites.

This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 1:37 PM.