New Tri-Cities COVID cases continue downward trend, with a 1-day drop in hospital cases

The Tri-Cities has 33 new confirmed case of COVID-19, the Benton Franklin Health District reported Wednesday.

It continues the general downward trend in new cases in the fourth wave of the disease in Washington state.

The cases reported Wednesday bring the average daily cases so far this week — starting with the weekend — to 27.

That is down from an average of 30 case per day last week and 39 the week before that.

The new cases include 18 in Benton County and 15 in Franklin county for a total of 16,437 confirmed cases in Benton County residents since the start of the pandemic and 12,145 cases in Franklin County residents.

The number of people hospitalized locally for COVID-19 treatment dropped to 21 as of Wednesday, down from as many as 29 on Friday.

However, the patient counts had been in the teens earlier this month for all the COVID patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.