Tri-Cities COVID cases jump 300+. Greatest increase in 20-somethings

The coronavirus case count in the Tri-Cities shot up 315 overnight.

It brings the total number of confirmed cases to 16,311, and comes just one day after the Benton Franklin Health District reported a 676-case increase from over a 3-day period.

The biggest change Tuesday was in the age 20-29 category, which went up 72 to a total 3,553 cases since March.

The next greatest increase was in adults age 30-39 with 53 new cases, followed by a near-equal number of new positives in pre-teens and teenagers and adults in their 40s.

Twenty seven new cases were reported in grade-school kids, along with 25 for adults in their 50s and 29 cases for people in their 60s.

Elderly residents came in at the bottom with 13 cases for those in their 70s and six who are 80 and older.

Long-term care cases up

Health district data shows 12 more residents and staff members of long-term care facilities have tested positive, bringing the pandemic’s total to 670.

Meanwhile, the number of patients hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID remains at 72, accounting for 18.3 percent of the 394 people at the hospitals in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

A total of 85.5% of all hospital beds are being used by patients, the health district said. The Washington state Department of Health wants to see fewer than 80% of beds in use to ensure hospital readiness.

“Positivity rate for cases reported today through the (state Department of Health) is 12.6% for both counties,” according to a Facebook post by the local health district.

The new confirmed cases include 177 Benton residents, bringing the county’s cumulative total to 9,100. Franklin added 138 cases to its total 7,211.

The rate in Franklin County per 100,000 is 1,069 for the two weeks through Dec. 1. In Benton County, 740 cases per 100,000 were reported for the same two-week period.

Case rates are figured based on when symptoms occurred or tests were done, causing a delay in data.

No deaths from complications of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday.

So far, 206 Tri-Citians have died since the start of the pandemic, with 139 in Benton County and 67 in Franklin County.

5 deaths in Walla Walla

In Walla Walla County, 26 people have died from complications of COVID since the start of the pandemic.

That includes three women in their 70s, a man in his 50s and another man in his 70s, as reported Monday by the county’s Department of Community Health. All five had tested positive for the virus before their deaths.

“We offer our heartfelt condolences to friends and families during this difficult time,” Kara Breymeyer, the department’s preventative services division manager, said in a news release.

The county has had 2,497 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Of those, 2,104 people have recovered while 367 remain active cases, with 351 in home isolation and 16 people hospitalized.

Health officials warn that those counts can change as new cases go through case investigation and tracing.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 6,972 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Monday and 16 deaths since Friday.

The record high case number reflects a backlog of positive lab test results received over the weekend. In addition, the number includes about 1,800 duplicate cases that have not been removed from the tally, according to the DOH.

Pierce County reported 108 cases Monday and four new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 251 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 184,404 cases and 2,941 deaths, up from 177,447 cases Sunday and 2,925 deaths Friday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

One hundred people were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Nov. 18, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked during the April surge at 78. Preliminary data indicates average daily admittances were 102 in late November.

Approximately 11.8% (1,094) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients on Monday. In the state’s intensive care units, 24.1% (281) of staffed adult beds were occupied by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.

On Nov. 26, the most recent date with testing data, 2,199 specimens were collected statewide, with 22.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 14%. More than 3.1 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 49,355 cases and 928 deaths. Spokane County is second, with 19,318 cases. Snohomish County has the second highest number of deaths at 308.

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

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 28 per 100,000. The national rate for the same period is 58.6 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rhode Island has the highest rate in the United States, at 110.6. Hawaii is the lowest, at 6.4.

There have been more than 14.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 283,621 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.

More than 1.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 67 million.

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