Tri-Cities downward trend in new COVID cases continues. No new deaths

There were 62 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in the Tri-Cities area on Tuesday, with the number up in part because of computer issues delaying some case reports the day before.

The Tuesday report puts the average number of cases for the past four days at 44 each day, which is in line with the trend of declining new daily cases since about the start of July.

The number of new daily cases reported since then has fallen by about 50%, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

“This community is doing very well,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties, in a brief interview with the Columbia Basin Badger Club.

“People for the most part are starting to take seriously the measures they need to do,” she said. “And we are seeing that in our numbers.”

There were no new deaths reported on Tuesday and the number of locally hospitalized patients being treated for COVID-19 remained at 37 for the second day in a row.

The new cases reported on Tuesday included 34 in Benton County and 28 in Franklin County.

On Monday the health district reported only nine new cases in Benton County and 16 new cases in Franklin County.

However, the Washington state Department of Health said an issue with its computer system related to routine maintenance caused a delay in receiving test notifications of positive test results for about seven hours for the Monday new case report for all counties in the state.

Those delayed case reports are included in the report of new cases released Tuesday by the Benton Franklin Health District.

Hospitalizations

The delay did not effect the local health district’s reports of deaths or local COVID hospitalizations on Monday.

The two counties averaged 48 cases per day over the last two weeks, with 314 cases reported in Benton County for 22 a day on average and 361 in Franklin County for 26 a day on average.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in local hospitals has trended sharply downward since the start of July, just as new cases have.

On July 1 the local health district reported 89 patients being treated for confirmed or suspected cases of infection with the coronavirus.

On Tuesday, the 37 patients being treated for COVID-19 accounted for just under 12% of patients in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

Hospitals are meeting state targets for maintaining unused capacity that would allow them to care for more COVID patients, were the state to allow more businesses to reopen and gatherings of small groups.

The state is not accepting applications to move to higher phases of reopening, however, after an earlier statewide rebound in case numbers.

Benton and Franklin counties also are not close to meeting state targets for daily new cases, despite the significant drop in new cases over the past seven weeks.

The state wants to see no more than 50 cases total in two weeks in Benton County and no more than 24 cases total in two weeks in Franklin County.

Deaths, cases by age

In other Tri-Cities area COVID data:

▪ People in their 20s are the age group most likely to have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

In Benton County 920 people ages 20-29 have had positive COVID-19 test results. In Franklin County 784 people in that age group have had COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

People in their 30s are the second most likely to have had COVID-19. They include 735 in Benton County and 717 people in Franklin County.

▪ Older people have fewer cases reported but are more likely to die.

Benton County deaths have included 58 people 80 or older, 30 people in their 70s, 15 people in their 60s, six people in their 50s and one person in their 40s.

Franklin County deaths have included 10 people 80 or older, 17 people in their 70s, nine people in their 60s, five people in their 50s and two people in their 40s.

This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 2:16 PM.