Tri-Cities COVID cases doubling faster than weeks ago. We’re back to last year’s level

Not only are Tri-Cities COVID-19 cases increasing, but they are increasing much faster than just weeks ago.

As of last week it took a month for the number of new cases to double.

But this week, cases have doubled in the last 18 days, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties, at a news media briefing Thursday.

The Tri-Cities new case rate has returned to the same level as a year ago, despite the availability of a vaccine, she said.

She is recommending that people who are vaccinated return to wearing masks in public places in the two counties, echoing a Centers for Disease Control recommendation this week for counties with high numbers of cases and a Washington state recommendation Wednesday.

People who are not vaccinated continue to be legally required to wear masks in public in Washington state.

When masks were required statewide a year ago, the Tri-Cities area residents complied and cases dropped.

“We know that if we can, in the short term, get more people back wearing masks again we can interrupt this rapid transmission of the highly transmissible delta variant,” Dr. Person said.

Public health officials believe that more than 90% of new cases in the state are the delta variant, which is more easily passed from person to person.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing more outbreaks and clusters, particularly when we have groups of people that are not vaccinated,” Dr. Person said.

Franklin County has the highest rate of new cases per population in the state and Benton County remains in the top three, Dr. Person said.

Both are rated as “high,” for the number of new cases per population, the worst rating given by the CDC for community transmission of the coronavirus.

Franklin County has a case rate of 388 new cases per 100,000 people over 14 days. Benton County’s rate has climbed to 333 cases, Dr. Person said.

The highest new case rate in the Tri-Cities area is in people ages 20 to 39.

The new case rate for that age group is 567 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks, according to Benton Franklin Health District data.

COVID vaccine

“Vaccination remains our safest, fastest and most effective way to get enough of the community to be immune to COVID-19 to stop this widespread transmission,” she said.

Now 97% of cases are in unvaccinated people, she said.

In Benton County only 47% of people old enough for the vaccine — it is available for people 12 and older — have been fully vaccinated. In Franklin County that drops to 40%, she said.

Across Washington state nearly 62% of eligible people have been vaccinate.

Dr. Person urges unvaccinated people to turn to the doctors and other medical workers they trust to take care of their health for information about the vaccine.

While increased use of masks in public can help stem the rise in new cases, its a stopgap measure.

“Our best hope to see months or years of low disease activity is to rapidly increase the number of people in our community that are immune to COVID-19,” preferably through vaccination, she said.

“If we really want to see that stable path forward, it is going to be through vaccination,” she said.

Tri-Cities cases

On Wednesday, the Benton Franklin Health District announced 211 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, but that dropped to 63 on Thursday.

It brought the average number of new cases for the week — starting with the weekend — to 122 per day.

That is up from an average of 80 new cases per day for last week through Thursday and 59 the week before.

As daily new cases have increased, more people have been getting tested for COVID-19 at the free drive-thru site at Columbia Basin College off Argent Road in Pasco.

About 500 people a day are being tested there, with one in five testing positive for COVID-19, Dr. Person said.

It is closed on Wednesday and Thursday, which can cause a drop in new daily cases reported late in the week.

The rise in COVID cases is also stressing hospitals, Dr. Person said.

As of Thursday, 51 people were being treated in Tri-Cities area hospitals for COVID-19. That’s up from 46 reported at the start of the week

The patients on Thursday accounted for 13% of the 389 patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals.

This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 12:49 PM.