Another COVID death in the Tri-Cities. Hospitals treating more coronavirus patients

Another death from complications of COVID-19 was reported by the Benton Franklin Health District on Wednesday.

A Benton County man in his 80s with underlying health conditions died.

The total deaths from the coronavirus in the Tri-Cities area now total 189. They include 128 residents in in Benton County and 61 in Franklin County.

A death due to the virus had not been reported since Thursday, Oct. 22.

The increase in new confirmed COVID-19 cases since mid September likely has contributed to an increase in hospital patients being treated for the disease.

The number of COVID patients at local hospitals jumped from 25 on Tuesday to 35 on Wednesday.

It was only the second time this month that local hospitals have treated more than 30 COVID patients on the same day, with numbers not routinely reported in the 30s since August.

The 35 patients being treated for COVID accounted for 11% of all patients in the hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The number of new confirmed cases reported in the Tri-Cities area on Wednesday was 47 for the second day.

That’s down from the average of 69 cases a day for the previous three days, but still higher than the average of 42 a day reported last week in the Tri-Cities area.

The newly reported cases include 33 in Benton County, bringing the total there to 5,278, and 14 in Franklin County, bringing the total there to 4,845.

The latest case rate for Benton County confirmed by the Washington state Department of Health is 159 cases per 100,000 people over the two weeks ending Oct. 16.

Preliminary data shows the Benton County case rate will increase to as high as 174 cases per 100,000 over the two weeks ending Oct. 24.

For Franklin County the latest case rate confirmed by the Washington state Department of Health is 269 cases per 100,000 over the two weeks ending Oct. 16.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported Tuesday 527 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 104,027 cases and 2,337 deaths, up from 103,500 cases and 2,321 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

Twenty-three people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 8, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

King County continues to have the highest case numbers in Washington, with 26,599 cases and 809 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,872 cases and 272 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 10,027 and 223 deaths, according to the state’s tally.

Benton and Franklin rank sixth and seventh for cases, behind Spokane and Snohomish counties.

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 9.2-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 21.2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 102.7 Vermont is the lowest at 2.9.

There have been more than 8.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 226,563 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, although some other countries have higher rates based on population. More than 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 43 million.

This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 2:03 PM.