Tri-Cities death toll from COVID-19 climbs to 320, even as new cases start to decline

Two more Tri-Cities area residents have died of complications of COVID-19, including a man in his 40s, the Benton Franklin Health District announced on Friday.

The weekly announcement of new deaths comes as new cases appear to be starting to decline in the Tri-Cities area during the fourth wave of the disease since the start of the pandemic.

The recent deaths include a Franklin County woman in her 80s and a Benton County man in his 40s.

They bring the total number of Tri-Cities area residents who have died to 320, including 215 in Benton County and 105 in Franklin County.

The deaths include 132 people 80 or older; 89 in their 70s; 60 in their 60s; 26 in their 50s; nine in their 40s; one each in their 30s and 20s; and two people younger than 20.

A dozen people died from the virus in April, down from 18 deaths in March and 22 in February, as more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Local public health officials verify that the deaths are due to COVID complications by checking for a positive test result and that a coronavirus infection was named as a primary cause of death on the death certificate.

The health district is no longer reporting whether those who died had underlying health conditions because a new privacy law covering death certificates took effect in 2021.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

The Tri-Cities has 36 new COVID-19 cases, the Benton Franklin Health District said on Friday, as the fourth wave of cases of the disease appears to have peaked

The number of new cases reported this week has averaged 39 per day, down from an average of 52 per day last week and 54 the previous week.

The two-week new case rate also is falling.

The Washington state Department of Health on May 18 is scheduled to check the number of COVID patients admitted to hospitals and whether counties have fewer than 100 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks. If they fail both goals, they will move to an earlier phase of business reopenings and gatherings.

Benton County’s new case rate reported Friday was below 200 for the second day in a row at 195 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, as calculated by the local health district.

Franklin County’s rate dropped to 308 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, down from 318 at the start of the week.

Hospitals in Benton and Franklin counties were treating 24 people for COVID-19 on Friday — a count unchanged from Thursday, but a significant drop from the recent high of 32 patients on Wednesday.

The 24 patients being treated for COVID-19 on Friday accounted for 5% of the 403 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

The 36 new cases reported community-wide Friday include 20 in Benton County and 16 in Franklin County.

They bring total cases confirmed with positive test results since the start of the pandemic to 28,237 in the Tri-Cities area.

They include 16,221 cases reported in Benton County and 12,016 in Franklin County.

COVID vaccination

As of Thursday just over a third of Benton County residents and just over a quarter of Franklin County residents ages 16 and older had been fully vaccinated.

More had received the first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, but still needed the second “booster” dose. Only one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is needed.

In Benton County 44% of people 16 and older have initiated vaccination, with 34% fully vaccinated.

In Franklin County 36% of people 16 and older have initiated vaccination, with 26% fully vaccinated.

Vaccines have only been approved for people 16 and older in the United States, although next week the Pfizer vaccine is expected to be approved for those ages 12 to 15.

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for people 18 and older and the Pfizer vaccine for people 16 and older.

People looking for a free vaccine with no appointment this weekend can try the Pasco Farmer’s Market on South Fourth Avenue from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

The Columbia Basin College testing site at 3110 W. Argent Road in Pasco will provide vaccine without appointments from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. as people sit in their cars. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are expected to be available.

The Pfizer vaccine will be offered at the Benton County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and a very limited supply of Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available from 10 a.m. to noon. Appointments are recommended to ensure a Johnson & Johnson dose. Go to prepmod.doh.wa.gov.

Some pharmacies also have begun offering to COVID vaccine to walk-in patients, including at the Safeway and Albertsons pharmacies.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,142 new COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths on Thursday.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 411,075 cases and 5,553 deaths. Those numbers are up from 409,933 cases and 5,539 death as of Wednesday. The case total includes 30,966 infections 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.

On April 17, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 11,737 specimens were collected statewide, with 7.4% testing positive.

At the Columbia Basin College drive-thru test site in Pasco the positive test rate for April 19 to May 2 was 9.8%.

The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 6.2%. The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.

According to DOH data, King County, with the state’s highest population, continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 98,627 cases and 1,504 deaths. Pierce County, second in population, is second in cases, with 47,151 and has the second-highest number of deaths at 636.

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 31.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 570,147 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest total number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.

More than 3.06 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 144 million.

Lauren Kirschman of The (Tacoma) News Tribune contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 1:27 PM.