2 more Tri-Citians die from COVID. Computer issue leads to incomplete new cases report

Two more Tri-Cities area residents have died of complications of COVID-19.

They bring the number of Benton and Franklin county residents lost due to infection with the coronavirus to 233.

The most recent deaths announced by the Benton Franklin Health District were both Benton County men.

One was in his 80s with underlying health conditions and the other was in his 90s and, other than his age, had no known health conditions that would have increased his risk for a severe case of COVID.

Benton County now has had 156 COVID deaths and Franklin County has had 77.

The deaths in both counties include 97 people 80 or older; 65 people in their 70s; 46 people in their 60s; 18 people in their 50s; five people in their 40s and two people younger than 20.

Those most likely to have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area are people their 20s and 30s, but no local deaths caused by COVID have been confirmed in those age groups.

COVID case rates

The local health district reported 80 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, but cautioned that the counts announced Tuesday and Wednesday may be incomplete because of a problem in compiling data electronically.

On Tuesday it reported 118 new cases.

The incomplete data brings the total case count for the two counties since the start of the pandemic to 19,737.

Case rates for both counties, as current through Dec. 23, have been dropping.

Benton County has had 665 new cases per 100,000 people reported for the two weeks ending Dec. 23. Case rates were in the 800s in mid December.

There is a lag in the weeks considered for the latest case rates reported because cases are backdated to the day when a person sought testing or when symptoms appeared.

Franklin County has had 850 new cases per 100,000 people reported for the same two weeks. That is down from case rates that had exceeded 1,000 earlier this month.

Public health officials are braced for another possible surge in Tri-Cities cases in January, as cases have consistently increased after holidays as people spend time with family and friends.

Hospital patients

Local hospitals reported they were treating 68 patients for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, down from as many as 81 earlier this month.

The patients on Wednesday accounted for 17% of the 400 patients hospitalized in Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser.

The state Department of Health has a goal of fewer than 10% COVID patients to ensure adequate capacity.

It also recommends that fewer than 80% of licensed beds be in use, and currently 87% of licensed hospital beds in the two counties are in use.

Five more staff or residents of long-term care homes have tested positive for COVID, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 740.

Holiday testing

The two free drive-thru COVID testing sites in the Tri-Cities will be closed New Year’s Day.

The Columbia Basin College West site at 3110 W. Argent Road, Pasco, will be open on Thursday, New Year’s Eve.

But the HAPO Center, formerly TRAC, testing site in Pasco will be closed on New Year’s Eve.

The CBC testing site usually is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day, and the HAPO testing site is usually open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

Preregistration is available for both drive thru testing sites at bit.ly/Tri-CitiesTesting. The same internet page has information on other places in Benton and Franklin county, including pharmacies and clinics, that offer various types of COVID testing.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,201 new cases of COVID-19 and 174 deaths Tuesday. The death number includes about 200 cases that were previously unreported due to a processing issue, DOH said.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 240,846 cases and 3,369 deaths. The case total includes 9,122 cases listed as probable. Those numbers are up from 238,645 cases and 3,195 deaths on Monday. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.

Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.

One hundred thirty people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Dec. 10, the most recent date with complete data.

Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 102 in late-December.

About 14.6% (1,280) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients Tuesday. In the state’s intensive care units, 21.7% (265) of staffed adult beds were occupied by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.

On Dec. 18, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 23,129 specimens were collected statewide, with 8% testing positive.

The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 8.7%. More than 3.7 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.

Cases by county

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 61,445 cases and 1,022 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 25,205. Snohomish County has the second-highest deaths at 383.

Ranking third for cases is Spokane County, followed by Snohomish, Yakima, Clark, Benton and Franklin counties. If Benton and Franklin counties were considered together, they would have the fifth most cases.

All counties in Washington have cases. Only four counties have case counts of fewer than 100, including Columbia with 82.

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 22.6 per 100,000 people.

The national rate for the same period is 54.2 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

California has the highest rate in the United States, at 95.3. Hawaii is the lowest, at 6.6.

As of last week, more than 30,000 high-risk health care workers have been vaccinated in Washington, according to DOH.

There have been more than 19.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 337,918 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 1.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 81 million.

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

This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 2:54 PM.