20 COVID cases reported in Tri-Cities, but the week’s total still high

Just 20 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported on Thursday by the Benton Franklin Health District.

That’s fewer than half as many cases as the 47 reported for the Tri-Cities on both Wednesday and Tuesday and down from an average of 69 cases per day for the three days before that.

Despite the one-day drop in new cases, the average number of daily infections for the week to date since last Friday still remains high at 54. That compares to an average of 42 new cases a day for the previous week.

The new cases reported on Thursday included 13 in Benton County for a total of 5,274 there since the start of the pandemic and seven in Franklin County for a total there of 4,869 since the start of the pandemic.

An audit resulted in some cases previously reported in Benton County being switched to the Franklin County total on Thursday.

The latest case rate for Benton County confirmed by the Washington state Department of Health is 156 cases per 100,000 people over the two weeks ending Oct. 17.

Preliminary data shows the Benton County case rate will increase to as high as 177 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 278 cases per 100,000 over the two weeks ending Oct. 17.

The death of an elderly Benton County man reported Wednesday was the only one announced in the Tri-Cities area this week.

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

Eighteen of the area residents who have died were younger than 60.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment in Benton and Franklin counties numbered 36 on Thursday.

It was only the third time this month that the health district has reported that local hospitals were treating 30 or more COVID patients on the same day, with numbers not routinely reported in the 30s since August.

The 36 COVID patients on Thursday accounted for 11% of all patients in hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported Wednesday 716 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 104,743 cases and 2,353 deaths, up from 104,027 cases and 2,337 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 Oct. 9, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.

On Oct. 17, the most recent date with complete data, 11,803 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.4% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.7%. More than 2.3 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 case numbers in Washington, with 26,789 cases and 814 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,881 cases and 273 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 10,116 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, including Columbia with 14 cases.

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 9.3-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 21.8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 107.9 Vermont is the lowest at 3.6.

There have been more than 8.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 227,409 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 other countries have higher rates based on population. More than 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 44 million.

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

This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 1:59 PM.