New COVID cases in Tri-Cities nearly double in one day

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Benton and Franklin counties nearly doubled in one day, with health officials reporting 60 on Wednesday.

Benton County reported 32 cases — up from 19 on Tuesday — while Franklin County went from 14 up to 28. The average over seven days dropped slightly to about 42 new cases.

The numbers reported by the Benton Franklin Health District brought the Tri-Cities case count to 9,711 since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of that total, 501 were reported in the last 14 days.

While the infection rate appears to have taken a big one-day leap, there still are no new confirmed deaths from the virus in either county. The total number of deaths has stayed at 187.

There are 348 people hospitalized in four Mid-Columbia hospitals. Of those patients, 21 are confirmed cases or have COVID-like illnesses. That numbers has been stable in recent days.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported on Tuesday 489 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 24 deaths.

Pierce County reported 61 cases Tuesday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 185 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 99,150 cases and 2,282 deaths, up from 98,661 cases 2,258 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Twenty-seven people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 1, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

On Oct. 9, the most recent date with complete data, 17,160 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.8% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.4%. More than 2.2 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 25,329 cases and 800 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,735 cases and 267 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 9,357, according to the state’s tally.

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

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 9.1-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 17.3 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 101.9. Vermont is the lowest at 1.8.

There have been more than 8.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 220,806 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation. More than 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 40 million.

This story was originally published October 21, 2020 at 3:06 PM.