Franklin County new COVID rate dips below WA state reopening level

Franklin County residents should be able to breathe a little easier as the rate of new COVID cases dipped below a key statistic.

The county had 193 new cases per 100,000 people over the two weeks ending on May 10. That puts it below one of the statistics Washington state uses to determine if the county should change phases.

Franklin County’s case rate has been above 200 cases per 100,000 for several weeks, triggering concerns that it would need to move to a lower phase of Gov. Jay Inslee’s re-opening plan.

The governor already has put a pause on changing phases, and announced that the state should be able to fully open by June 30.

The change in Franklin County is part of a continuing downward trend in cases for both counties, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

Benton County’s case rate dropped to 157 cases per 100,000 over the two-week period ending on May 10.

Benton County reported 37 new cases over the course of the weekend, and Franklin County had 40.

Washington state

The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,375 new COVID-19 cases on Friday.

Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 421,757 and 5,622 deaths. Those numbers stood at 419,382 and 5,626 deaths as of Thursday. Friday’s death data included four fewer deaths than reported on Thursday as local health jurisdictions ruled those deaths as not related to COVID-19.

The case total includes 23,159 infections listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily. Total case counts may include up to 1,800 duplicates.

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

According to DOH data, King County, with the state’s highest population, continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 106,940 cases and 1,540 deaths. Pierce County, second in population, is second in cases, with 52,763. Pierce County has the second-highest number of deaths, at 668, according to DOH, which counts deaths differently than the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

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.

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

This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 1:20 PM.