42 more COVID cases reported in Tri-Cities. Daily cases continue to climb

COVID-19 cases confirmed in the Tri-Cities area topped 9,500 on Friday with 42 more cases reported by the Benton Franklin Health District.

No new deaths from complications of COVID-19 were reported on Friday, and the local health district does not provide updates on the weekend.

The 42 new cases Friday bring the total since the start of the pandemic in the Tri-Cities to 9,531, including 4,928 in Benton County and 4,603 in Franklin County.

The cases for the week — for the seven days ending Friday — averaged 41, up from a daily average of 38 new cases per day for the seven days ending Oct. 9 and an average of 32 a day the week before.

After a steep drop in the number of new cases since early July in both counties, the decline in daily new cases has flattened out, followed by an upward trend recently.

However, cases still were much higher in July. Three months ago in the third week of July, as many as 184 new cases were reported on one day.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 at local hospitals on Friday increased to 23 from 21 a day earlier.

As many as 89 patients were hospitalized locally on a single day earlier in the summer.

The 23 patients being treated for COVID-19 on Friday accounted for 7% of all patients at hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

Total deaths since the start of the pandemic in Benton and Franklin counties now total 187.

They include 126 Benton County residents who have died and 61 residents of Franklin County.

School reopening

The confirmed case rate for Benton County has increased to 138 new cases per 100,000 people for the two weeks through Oct. 5, up from 130 for the two weeks through Oct. 3.

The new case rate had dropped to as low as 83 for the two weeks ending Sept. 10.

In Franklin County the confirmed new case rate is 245 cases per 100,000 for the two weeks ending Oct. 5, up from 203 for the two weeks through Oct. 3.

Its new case rate had dropped to as low as 144 for the two weeks ending Sept. 17.

The confirmed rates for Benton and Franklin counties are expected to continue to climb for at least the next few days, based on preliminary data.

There is a lag time in confirming cases because new cases are backdated after the day they are reported to either when symptoms first appeared or when nasal or saliva samples for testing were collected.

The Washington state Department of Health recommends that schools not reopen for limited in-person classes until case rates are no longer considered high, which it puts at 75 or more new cases per 100,000 over two weeks.

However, Dr. Amy Person, the local health officer for the Benton Franklin Health District, says as more schools have reopened around the nation and internationally, it appears that new case rates can be as high as 200 per 100,000 over two weeks without a major spread of the coronavirus within schools, if safety protocols are strictly followed.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported on Friday 709 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 96,894, cases and 2,239 deaths, up from 96,185 cases and 2,232 deaths Thursday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Sixteen people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Sept. 27, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

On Oct. 5, the most recent date with complete data, 25,071 specimens — a record high — were collected statewide, with 3.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.4%. More than 2.1 million tests have been conducted in Washington.

The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 24,769 cases and 792 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,680 cases and 267 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 9,075 and 217 deaths, according to the state’s tally.

Benton and Franklin rank sixth and seventh for cases, after Spokane and Snohomish counties. Benton also ranks sixth for number of deaths and Franklin ranks eighth, after Clark County, according to the state Department of Health.

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

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 8.1-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 16.2 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 84.2. Vermont is lowest at 1.5.

There had been more than 8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 218,448 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Friday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation, but several countries have higher death rates based on population. More than 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 39 million.

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

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 1:18 PM.