Benton County COVID cases close to level for schools to reopen

Preliminary data for Benton County shows the number of new COVID-19 cases dropping on Thursday to the level approved for a limited reopening of schools, said local health officials.

Benton County’s new cases have dropped just below 75 per 100,000 people during a two-week period, based on preliminary data. Franklin County cases, while falling were still at about 175 cases per 100,000.

Dr. Amy Person announced the new milestone at a Thursday news briefing, emphasizing that the number of new cases was only preliminary and could change.

“I am very encouraged to even see preliminary numbers indicating that disease activity is dropping to the moderate level,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer at the Benton Franklin Health District. “Our best hope is for that to continue.”

She cautioned that parents should not expect to have their children back in classrooms immediately.

The initial numbers are based on when people who test positive first had symptoms, so more cases may be added for the two weeks ending Sept. 8.

The health district wants to see a trend over two weeks with all new cases reported and numbers still dropping into the moderate category.

After that schools will need some time to make final preparations to reopen on a limited basis. Initially they would reopen with a hybrid learning system with both some in-person classes and some classes from home.

Numbers would have to drop again significantly to meet a recommendation for all classes to be held in-person.

Local public health officials also are watching for a spike in cases after the Labor Day weekend, which could cause a reopening delay.

New cases increased in the Tri-Cities area up to 14 days after other holidays during the spring and summer.

“I am optimistic that if the residents of Benton and Franklin counties over the Labor Day holiday continued to practice those infection control habits that they have been doing ... that this preliminary finding may be something that will hold true over the next two weeks,” Dr. Person said.

That includes wearing masks in public, maintaining distance from nonhousehold members, gathering in groups of no more than five nonhousehold members and staying home as soon as any possible symptoms of COVID-19 appear.

Confirmed cases

The most recent confirmed, rather than preliminary, numbers are through Aug. 29 with Benton County showing 133 new cases per 100,000 population over two weeks and Franklin County showing 203 cases per 100,000 population.

The Washington state Department of Health has set a goal of fewer than 75 cases per 100,000 people. At that number, it considers new case activity to have dropped from a high to a moderate level.

Through Sept. 8, Benton County’s new cases over two weeks dropped just below 75 per 100,000, and Franklin County’s cases were at 175 cases per 100,000.

Both counties continue to have more new cases per population than the state as a whole.

Opening schools

Local public health officials know that having children learning at home has been a hardship for many families, Dr. Person said.

The decision was based on the most recent scientific knowledge about the coronavirus and evidence from other nations and locations in the United States that have opened schools, she said.

Some schools in areas with high numbers of new cases in the United States opened for classes, only to shut down again as the infection spread among students and staff.

Schools in other countries that have reopened successfully typically have been in areas with much lower case rates than Benton and Franklin counties had before new cases started to drop in early July.

Small private schools in the Tri-Cities area have students back in class, but their small size makes that possible, Dr. Person said. There have been no COVID-19 outbreaks reported at them, she said.

Public health officials want kids back in public school, also, when cases are confirmed in the moderate level, Dr. Person said.

“That’s where kids do the best and for many of them we know it provides so much more than education,” Dr. Person said.

New cases

On Thursday the health district reported 33 new cases of COVID-19 based on the reports of positive test results received through midnight the previous day.

They included 19 new cases in Benton County for a total since the start of the pandemic of 4,280 and 14 new cases in Franklin County for a total of 4,073.

Based on when cases were reported, rather than when symptoms developed, that put the rolling two-week total for Benton County at 225. Based on its population that’s about 75 cases too many for the caseload to be considered moderate.

Franklin County’s rolling two-week total was 201 and it needs to get down to about 72 cases, based on its population.

No new deaths from complications of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday, leaving the total since the start of the pandemic in the Tri-Cities area at 160. Benton County has had 113 deaths and Franklin County has had 47.

Not only does Benton County have a population that is a little more than twice that of Franklin County, it also has a higher percentage of senior-age residents. COVID patients over age 60 are at increased risk of dying.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals on Thursday was 34, up two from the day before.

However, numbers of patients had spiked into the 40s late last week after remaining in the 30s for most of August.

The 34 patients being treated for COVID-19 on Thursday accounted for about 10% of the patients in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health on Wednesday reported 464 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths over a two-day span.

The State Department of Health website was down on Tuesday, and the department did not report cases or deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 78,009 cases and 1,978 deaths.

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 20,413 cases and 743 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,096 cases and 251 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,149 and 156 deaths.

Benton and Franklin counties ranked sixth and seventh in the state, after Snohomish and Spokane counties.

All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.

Jon Manley of the (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.