3 more COVID deaths in Tri-Cites area. But new cases take a big drop

Three deaths were reported Tuesday in the Tri-Cities area from complications of COVID-19, the first deaths reported in a week.

The deaths were announced a day after the Washington state Department of Health reported that the number of COVID-19 deaths statewide has topped 2,000.

In better news, the number of new confirmed cases in Benton and Franklin counties dropped to just 13, and COVID patients hospitalized locally are at one of the lowest numbers in months.

The two counties have lost a total of 163 people to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. They include 114 people living in Benton County and 49 in Franklin County.

The newly reported deaths include a Benton County man in his 70s, a Franklin County woman in her 80s and a Franklin County man in his 80s.

All had underlying health conditions that put them at risk of a serious case of COVID-19 along with their age.

The Benton Franklin Health District does not add deaths to its COVID tally unless the person had a positive test result for infection with the coronavirus and a death certificate that lists complications of COVID as the cause of death.

New COVID cases

The new cases include nine in Benton County for a total of 4,347 cases conformed with positive tests since the start of the pandemic. The four new cases in Franklin County bring the total there to 4,135.

The 13 cases reported on Tuesday compare to an average per day of 31 for the two counties combined for the past three days and 23 cases announced on Friday, 33 on Thursday and 46 on Wednesday.

The number of new cases are down 57% since July 30 in Benton County and by 62% in Franklin County, which started out with a higher rate of new cases.

The overall drop in cases, with some daily variation up and down, prompted Dr. Amy Person, the health officer for the two counties, to issue a new recommendation to schools on Monday.

She said Benton County and some smaller Franklin County schools should prepare to resume some in-person learning Oct. 1. Other Franklin County schools should prepare for Oct. 15, she said.

Dr. Person believes that both counties will meet the state recommendation for a hybrid model of at-home and in-person learning by mid October. The state recommendation is adding some in-person learning when counties drop to fewer than 75 new cases over two weeks per 100,000 people.

For Benton County that’s about 150 new cases in two weeks and for Franklin County it is about 72 cases in two weeks.

Hospital patients

The smaller number of people being hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 in Benton Franklin counties also is evidence that the spread of the coronavirus is spreading.

On Tuesday 23 patients were being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals.

On Monday the patients hospitalized locally for COVID-19 dropped to just 22, down from months of patients numbering in the 30s or more and as many as 89 in late June.

The 23 patients hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 on Tuesday accounted for just 7% of all patients at the hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

COVID testing

The Benton Franklin Health District said no drive-thru COVID testing was done Tuesday at the HAPO Center in Pasco by the Washington National Guard to protect members of the guard from the hazardous air quality.

The drive-thru site will remain closed on Wednesday.

However, testing remains available at many clinics in the Tri-Cities. The local health district has details posted at bit.ly/TCtestingsites.

Local public health officials are concerned that people may mistakenly attribute some symptoms of COVID-19, such as coughing, sore throat and shortness of breath, to the smoky air in the Tri-Cities.

They urge anyone with symptoms to be tested to determine whether infection with the coronavirus is the cause to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Additional symptoms that could indicate COVID include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and loss of taste and smell.

The sooner people are tested, the faster those with positive results can be isolated at home and their close contacts asked to remain home until it is clear they are not infected.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health on Monday reported 312 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths from the weekend. DOH does not report deaths on Saturdays and Sundays.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 80,138 cases and 2,006 deaths, up from 79,826 cases and 1,991 Sunday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Twenty-two people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 26, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 20,912 cases and 747 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,171 cases and 251 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,338 and 188 deaths.

Snohomish and Spokane are next, followed by Benton and Franklin counties.

All counties in Washington have cases. Eleven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.

On Monday, Washington had a 1,059-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,984, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,399. Vermont is lowest at 269.

There had been more than 6.54 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 194,411 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 925,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 1:39 PM.