7 more Tri-Cities area COVID deaths. They continue to average 1 each day

The Tri-Cities area continues to average about a death per day announced this month from complications of COVID-19.

Seven more Tri-Cities area residents have died of complications of COVID-19, bringing the total for the month to 23, according to data from the Benton Franklin Health District.

The recent deaths put the death toll for Benton and Franklin counties since the start of the pandemic at 256.

The deaths announced Friday by the local health district in its weekly update were all Benton County residents.

The included four women. They were in their 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

The three men who died were all in their 70s.

The health district no longer reports whether those who died had underlying health conditions that put them at risk of a severe case of COVID-19, due to a change in state privacy laws as of Jan. 1.

The 23 deaths of local residents from COVID complications so far this month compare to 36 COVID deaths in December.

The health district confirms deaths were caused by COVID-19 by checking for a positive COVID-19 test result and reviewing death certificates to see if COVID-19 is listed as a primary cause of death.

Tri-Cities area cases

Another 122 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported Friday in the Tri-Cities area, down from 146 the day before.

It brings the average number of new cases confirmed for the week — starting with the weekend — to 101 a day. New cases confirmed over the three-day holiday weekend were unusually low at an average of 84 per day.

The previous week new cases averaged 152 a day.

The new confirmed cases reported Friday included 86 in Benton County and 36 in Franklin County.

Since the start of the pandemic, 23,204 cases have been reported in the Tri-Cities area, including 13,486 in Benton County and 9,718 in Franklin County.

The two-week, rolling rate of new cases increased, according to the latest information available on Friday.

Benton County has had 704 new cases confirmed per 100,000 people in the two weeks ending Jan. 15. The case rates had been reported in the 600s earlier in the week and were in the 500s as reported for the first 11 days of the month.

Franklin County has had 786 new cases confirmed per 100,000 in the two weeks ending Jan. 15, up from the case rate of 733 reported on Thursday. The lowest case rate reported this month was 706.

Case rates give a snapshot of a longer period than daily new case numbers, and they are based on when a person sought testing or when symptoms appeared, rather than when positive case results were reported to public health agencies.

Hospital cases

There were 53 people hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID-19 as of Friday, the lowest number reported this month. Patient counts have been in the 50s and 60s all month.

The 53 patients accounted for 13% of the 409 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

The Washington state Department of Health recommends fewer than 10% COVID-19 patients to ensure adequate hospital capacity.

COVID vaccine numbers

The Washington state Department of Health reported that 7,944 doses of the COVID vaccine had been administered in Benton County as of Thursday, with 1,025 people having received both doses.

Currently approved vaccines require two shots for maximum effectiveness.

In Franklin County 1,476 doses of the vaccine had been administered, with 307 people fully vaccinated.

However, there may be a lag in numbers being reported to the state and then added to its data.

That compares to 335,836 COVID shots given in the state of Washington, with 50,698 people fully vaccinated.

As of Wednesday, 608,325 doses had been delivered to providers in Washington state, plus 88,725 for the CDC’s long-term care vaccination program. Of those delivered doses, 48.1% had been administered.

Currently, Washington state is in phase 1B tier 1 of vaccinations. That phase adds anyone 65 years and older and certain people 50 years and older living in multigenerational households.

On the national level, 37.9 million doses have been distributed and 17.5 million shots of the approved vaccines have been given, according to CDC statistics. The population of the United States is approximately 328 million.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,223 new cases of COVID-19 and 125 deaths Thursday. The high number of new deaths is due to a Jan. 14-20 data processing backlog, DOH said.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 296,087 cases and 4,065 deaths. Those numbers are up from 293,864 cases Wednesday and 3,940 deaths Tuesday. The case total includes 12,899 cases listed as probable. 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.

As of Jan. 2, the date with the most recent complete data, 98 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.

Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 112 in mid-January.

Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,197), approximately 81% (969) were occupied by patients Thursday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 18.5% (221) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.

For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24 per 100,000 people. Five states were lower.

The national rate for the same period was 58.4 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Arizona has the highest rate in the United States at 95.8. Hawaii is the lowest at 8.3.

On Jan. 2, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 21,839 specimens were collected statewide, with 11% testing positive.

The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 9.9%. More than 4.3 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.

Cases by county

King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 74,500 cases and 1,191 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 31,781. Snohomish County has the second-highest number of deaths at 467.

After Pierce, the counties with the most cases are Spokane, Snohomish, Yakima, Clark, Benton and Franklin counties. If Benton and Franklin counties were considered together, they would rank fifth for cases.

All counties in Washington have cases. Only Columbia, San Juan and Wahkiakum counties have case counts of fewer than 100, with 93 in Columbia.

There have been more than 24.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 409,667 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.

More than 2 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 97 million.

This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 2:18 PM.