July a grim month for COVID in Tri-Cities. Outbreaks triple, 10 people die

July was a grim month for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities by nearly every measure.

The month ended with a week that saw 850 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area.

New case rates tripled through the month, and the percentage of positive results at the free COVID-19 testing site at Columbia Basin College nearly doubled.

Friday so many people were trying to get tested at the free drive-thru testing site at Columbia Basin College that traffic backed up onto Argent Road in Pasco.

COVID-19 outbreaks are increasing in the Tri-Cities, with three times as many outbreaks reported in the latest biweekly report of the Benton Franklin Health District compared to the one a month ago.

Local public health officials said as they started to see more people infected with the highly transmissible delta variant, one person was sometimes infecting 10 people, rather than one to two others.

Hospitals were treating significantly more patients for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area by the end of the month.

On Friday the Benton Franklin Health District reported 61 patients in local hospitals, accounting for 15% of all patients in the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals. June ended with 22 people hospitalized locally for COVID treatment.

The number of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 rose modestly this month. About 2% more of the population of both counties are fully vaccinated than at the start of July.

Deaths, breakthrough cases

The 10 deaths due to COVID-19 reported in the month were down two from June, but still one more than reported in May.

The local health district announces recent deaths once a week, on Fridays, and no deaths were announced on the last and fifth Friday of the month.

When the pandemic started many of the deaths were in elderly people, who are particularly vulnerable to all types of viruses, said Heather Hill, infectious disease supervisor for the Benton Franklin Health District, speaking on the Kadlec on Call podcast, this week.

“Now we are starting to see though with COVID that the age is significantly lower,” she said.

She pointed out that the three most recent deaths announced were for people in their 30s, 40s and 60s.

The largest number of new cases in the Tri-Cities area are in people ages 20 to 29, followed by people ages 30 to 39.

Since the start of the pandemic, 349 Tri-Cities area residents have died from the coronavirus, including 233 Benton County residents and 116 Franklin County residents.

In all of Washington state, 6,122 deaths due to the coronavirus have been reported since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 41 over the last week.

Of the people who have died statewide, just 52 were known to be vaccinated against COVID, an increase of four in a week.

As of the Benton Franklin Health District’s data through June, none lived in Benton or Franklin counties.

Details of all cases are not known, but at least 27 of those lived in long-term care facilities for the elderly and at least 37 were hospitalized and 10 were not, according to the latest state report issued July 28 on vaccination breakthrough cases.

The delta variant now accounts for the majority of cases in Washington state and is not only more easily spread among people but also may cause more severe illness.

However, local public health officials say the vaccine gives good protection against the delta variant.

A total of 4,241 Washington residents who were fully vaccinated later developed “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19, according to the state report. More than 4 million people in the state are fully vaccinated.

In Benton and Franklin counties, 97% of current confirmed cases are in people who have not been vaccinated, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties.

Tri-Cities outbreaks

COVID-19 outbreaks are increasing in the Tri-Cities, with three times as many outbreaks reported in the latest biweekly report of the Benton Franklin Health District compared to one a month ago.

The Benton Franklin Health District reported 21 outbreaks in businesses and other public schools in its COVID-19 situation report this past week. That compares to seven outbreaks reported a month ago.

In addition nine more possible outbreaks are under investigation, the latest report said.

There are 12 outbreaks in businesses, with eight under investigation; five in long-term care facilities for the elderly; two in health care settings with one under investigation and two in schools.

Statewide the largest number of outbreaks since the start of the pandemic have been in restaurants, where one person infecting at least one other employee or customer at the business is considered an outbreak.

Tri-Cities testing

Demand for testing increased over the last week, with about 500 people a day seeking a test at the drive-thru site at Columbia Basin College.

On Friday, as the site reopened after its weekly Wednesday-Thursday closure, the car line grew so long that the Benton Franklin Health District asked that people with symptoms be prioritized for testing. It asked others to wait for another day, if possible, or find another Tri-Cities COVID-19 testing site.

The site then had to close early due to the heat.

Earlier in the week public health officials said that about 1 in 5 people getting tested were positive for the coronavirus.

That was a jump from about 11% positive test results early in the month to 20% the past week.

The testing site is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Tuesdays at 3110 W. Argent Road, Pasco.

Tri-Cities cases

The Tri-Cities averaged 121 confirmed cases per day over the last week.

It was up from 86 new cases per day last week and 59 per day the week before.

The number of new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks jumped to 341 in Benton County and 387 in Franklin County, as reported Friday.

That’s up from 113 in Benton County and 132 in Franklin County at the end of June.

Tri-Cities vaccinations

About 2% more of the Tri-Cities area population became fully vaccinated in the month of July.

At the start of the month the Washington state Department of Health reported that 50% of all state residents were fully vaccinated, which increased to 52% as of Thursday.

In the Tri-Cities area the rate of fully vaccinated residents increased from 37% to 39% in Benton County and 30% to 32% in Franklin County over the month.

Of those eligible to be vaccinated — people 12 and older — nearly 62% or residents statewide are fully vaccinated, with that increasing to almost 74% in the state’s most populous county, King.

In Benton County 47% of people 12 and older are fully vaccinated and in Franklin County 41% are.

The COVID-19 vaccine is available at many doctor’s offices and clinics and many pharmacies will give the vaccine at no cost to people without an appointment. For a list of places with vaccine available, go to vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.

This story was originally published July 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM.