Tri-Cities new COVID case rate is getting closer to matching WA state rate
The Tri-Cities area has 34 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Benton Franklin Health District reported on Thursday.
“We are continuing to see ... cases of COVID, but we are able to say it is still continuing at a downward trend,” said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast this week.
“We would like to see it a little steeper downward trend, but it is at least going the right direction,” she said.
The cases reported on Thursday brought the number of cases for the week so far — starting with the weekend — to just under 32 per day.
It is close to the average number of new daily cases reported for the previous two weeks, and well below average daily new cases reported in January and February for the Tri-Cities area.
The new case rate over the past seven days for the Tri-Cities is close to matching the Washington state case rate, which has been increasing.
Benton and Franklin counties had 73 new confirmed cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days.
The state had 71 new confirmed cases per 100,000 people over seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.
Fourteen states had lower rates, but Washington still was well below the national rate of 118 per 100,000.
New Jersey had the highest rate in the United States at 329. Hawaii had the lowest at 37.
The new cases reported on Thursday included 19 in Benton County and 15 in Franklin County, where case rates have been slower to drop.
The two counties have had 26,363 cases confirmed with positive test results since the start of the pandemic, including 15,092 in Benton County and 11,271 in Franklin County.
The Tri-Cities area has had 306 deaths since the start of the pandemic, including 207 in Benton County and 99 in Franklin County. The local health district gives a weekly update on COVID deaths each Friday.
Local hospitals reported treating 15 patients for COVID-19 as of Thursday. That’s down from 17 the day before but above the recent low of just 12 patients.
The 15 COVID patients Thursday accounted for about 4% of the 404 patients at the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.
Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 960 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 14 deaths. Nationally, the United States passed the 30 million case mark and 545,000 deaths.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 357,499 cases and 5,200 deaths. Those numbers are up from 356,539 cases 5,186 deaths Tuesday. The case total includes 21,893 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 March 5, the date with the most recent complete data, 42 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were stable at 33 in mid-March.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,224) approximately 75.7% (926) were occupied by patients Tuesday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 5.9% (72) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Cases by county
According to DOH data, King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 88,465 cases and 1,458 deaths.
All counties in Washington have at least 100 cases. Only 11 of the state’s 39 counties have case counts of fewer than 1,000.
There have been more than 30 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 545,103 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 2.74 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 124 million.
Craig Sailor of The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 1:37 PM.