Tri-Cities hospitals are busier with COVID patients as new daily case counts keep rising

The number of new daily COVID-19 cases is up this week in the Tri-Cities to an average of 53 new cases per day.

Local hospitals also are getting busier with COVID-19 patients, with the patient count topping 30 on Tuesday. Patient counts have not been that high routinely since February.

Through the weekend and Monday all new confirmed cases averaged 56 per day and on Tuesday, Benton and Franklin counties combined had 44 new cases.

Last week new cases averaged 46 per day, up from 32 and 31 new cases the two previous weeks.

The number of people hospitalized locally for treatment of COVID-19 jumped to 34, as reported Tuesday, up from 25 a day earlier.

Hospital case counts have been in the 20s for most days this summer, up from counts typically in the teens in the spring.

The 34 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of Tuesday accounted for nearly 9% of the 387 patients at the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

The state of Washington reported the 6,000th death of a Washington resident from complications of COVID-19 on Monday.

In the Tri-Cities area, where recent deaths are reported each Friday, the death toll stands at 345, including 229 Benton County residents and 116 Franklin County residents.

The Tri-Cities area has had 30,336 cases of COVID-19 confirmed with positive tests since the start of the pandemic, including 17,619 in Benton County and 12,717 in Franklin County.

Statewide there have been 456,709 confirmed cases.

Vaccine clinics ending

Free pop-up and drive-thru COVID-19 vaccine clinics are ramping down in the Tri-Cities area as vaccines are widely available at pharmacies, clinics and doctor’s offices.

“We now have plenty of vaccine providers in our community and families should be confident and comfortable getting their COVID-19 vaccines where they receive their other important and necessary vaccines and preventive services,” said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.

To find places that offer the free COVID vaccine in Washington state, go to vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov and enter your zip code.

Sunday, July 18, will be the last day that COVID-19 vaccines will be given at the drive-thru testing site at Columbia Basin College, 3110 W. Argent Road, Pasco.

Its final three days of vaccinations will be 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday this week.

The site will continue to offer free testing 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Tuesdays.

Benton Franklin Health District, which coordinated most of the pop-up COVID vaccine clinics in the Tri-Cities area, also plans to discontinue the clinics.

The pop-up clinics will continue through Sunday, with three brands of vaccine available, no appointments required and vaccines available for ages 12 and older.

Pop-ups this week

The pop-up clinics through this weekend will be at:

▪ Meals on Wheels, 1824 Fowler St., Richland, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday.

▪ Karen Baptist Church, 1515 W. First Ave., Kennewick, 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

▪ Columbia Basin College, 2600 N. 20th Place, Pasco, 9 a.m. to noon Thursday.

▪ Ben Franklin Transit, 7109 W. Okanogan Place, Kennewick, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.

▪ Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Drive, 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday.

▪ Pasco Eagles, 2829 W. Sylvester St., Pasco, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

▪ Super Mex, 720 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

▪ Pasco Flea Market, 3620 E Lewis Place, Pasco, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday courtesy of the Washington state Department of Health Care-A-Van.