Despite Tri-Cities ‘high risk’ COVID rate, school reopening can be OK, says doctor

Schools in Benton and Franklin counties may safely reopen this month, even though new case rates have not fallen as much as was expected, the health officer for the two counties told the Herald on Thursday.

When Dr. Amy Person said in mid September that schools could start making plans to reopen in October because cases were expected to hit 75 per 100,000 people over two weeks in Benton County in early October and later in the month in Franklin County.

The Washington state Department of Health this summer said more than 75 cases per 100,000 was considered high risk for schools to reopen, even in a hybrid learning system of part at-home and part in-class teaching.

But the drop in the declining rate of new cases that started in early July in the Tri-Cities area has stalled as more businesses reopen and more recently because of some Labor Day parties, said health officials.

The state’s data for the two counties shows the rate has increased this month, with the latest confirmed rate by the state putting Benton County cases at 102 new cases per 100,000 over the two weeks through Sept. 26.

Franklin County’s state-confirmed rate for the same two weeks is 176 new cases per 100,000. The statewide rate is 90 cases per 100,000.

But as more is learned about the new coronavirus, Dr. Person sees evidence that has convinced her that a limited reopening of schools is still the best recommendation.

“We wouldn’t be doing our job (in public health) if we ignored new evidence,” she said.

It may be possible to reopen schools with a case rate as high as 200 per 100,000 over two weeks, some evidence shows, she said.

What hasn’t worked

Other states and countries that have reopened have had cases occur in students or teachers, but there has not been a sustained transmission of the virus within schools as long as appropriate protective measures have been taken, said Dr. Person.

But at schools in other areas that have not followed precautions, such as social distancing and requiring face coverings, there have been outbreaks, she said.

The local health district knows from contacting those who have tested positive for COVID-19 that the people who get COVID-19 are people who public health officials would expect to be infected, she said.

For the most part they are people not following recommendations. They may be attending gatherings, not wearing face coverings and not practicing social distancing, Dr. Person said.

“We don’t get stories of people who have done everything they were supposed to and then get sick,” she said.

It tells public health officials that precautions, when followed, are working.

Lower cases in kids

In addition, public health officials know that the people most likely to have COVID-19 confirmed in the Tri-Cities area are those in their 20s, rather than those school age, she said.

Of the 4,767 confirmed cases in Benton County since the start of the pandemic, 9% have been in ages 10 through 17 and just under 4% have been in children younger than 10.

In Franklin County, there have been 4,450 confirmed cases, with 10% in ages 10 to 19 and 4% in children younger than 10.

That compares to 24% of all cases in Benton County that have been in people in their 20s and 21% in Franklin counties.

Public health officials need to weigh the risk of transmitting COVID within schools to staff and students against the social, education and mental health risks for students when they are not attending classes in person, Dr. Person said.

The greater risk, even with current case rates, appears to be having students out of classrooms for prolonged periods, she said.

The decision on schools reopening are made by school leadership after determining if they are ready with all the policies, protocols and supplies they need to hold classes in person during the pandemic.

Just this week, the Kennewick School District saw its first case of a student in class with COVID-19. And it’s had 11 cases since late August of staff members who reported testing positive.

Pasco reported having four cases, and Richland schools reported no cases.

Tri-Cities cases, deaths

The Benton Franklin Health District reported 37 new confirmed cases on Thursday in the two-county area.

That’s down from the 41 cases reported a day earlier, but still a little higher than the recent average of cases in the low 30s.

There were 18 new cases in Benton County and 19 in Franklin County reported Thursday.

Total deaths in the Tri-Cities area since the start of the pandemic remain at 171, including 117 residents of Benton County and 54 residents of Franklin County. No deaths have been reported since Friday.

The number of people hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID-19 was up to 33 on Thursday, after most days this month had seen patient numbers in the 20s.

However, the number of people hospitalized for COVID treatment remain far below the 89 patients at one time early this summer.

The 33 COVID patients on Thursday accounted for 10% of all patients hospitalized in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported Wednesday 545 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 91,208 cases and 2,177 deaths, up from 90,663 cases and 2,165 deaths Tuesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Thirty-three people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Sept. 18, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 23,351 cases and 780 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,521 cases and 263 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 8,437.

Benton and Franklin rank sixth and seventh for cases, following Spokane and Snohomish counties. Franklin County ranks eighth for deaths, behind Clark County, according to state Department of Health statistics.

All counties in Washington have cases. Ten counties have case counts of fewer than 100, including Columbia County with 14 cases.

On Wednesday, Washington had a 1,203-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 2,259, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,658. Vermont is lowest at 291.

There had been more than 7.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 211,652 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation, although some countries have higher rates based on population. More than 1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 35 million.

Craig Sailor with The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.