Franklin COVID infections still nearly double WA state rate

The rate of new COVID-19 cases in the Tri-Cities remains high, but it’s no longer the highest in Washington state, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Tri-Cities area is averaging 206 new cases per day so far this week, starting with the weekend, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

While that’s close to the number of new daily cases reported in Benton and Franklin counties last week, the rate has climbed from a daily average of 121 a month ago and 86 per day five weeks ago.

Franklin County no longer has the highest new case rate per 100,000 people over two weeks in the state, with a slightly higher rate reported in Columbia County, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

But it remains about double the statewide rate.

Six counties in Oregon and four in Idaho also have higher COVID-19 case rates than Franklin County, according to data compiled by the Brown University School of Public Health.

Eight Washington state counties have a higher case rate than Benton County, as new cases have climbed across the state due to the more contagious delta variant.

Benton and Franklin counties had a combined case rate of 958 new cases per 100,000 of all ages in two weeks, as of Tuesday, with Franklin County’s case rate above 1,000 on Monday and Tuesday for the first time since December.

The Benton County rate was down from a recent high of 972 to 935.

The statewide rate as reported by the Department of Health on Monday was 514.

As children headed back to school this week, the most recently reported case rate for those ages 5 to 14 for Benton and Franklin counties combined was 694 new cases per 100,000 children over two weeks.

For teens 15 to 19 the rate hit 1,192 in mid August and was at 1,019 as of Monday.

The new case rate for adults ages 20 to 39 is even higher. The rate hit a high of 1,562 earlier this month and was at 1,450 Monday.

Tri-Cities hospitals full

Tri-Cities area hospitals are at capacity with patients with all kinds of conditions — including injuries, heart attacks and strokes — sometimes having to wait in the emergency department for a bed to open if they need to be admitted, particularly to the intensive care unit, hospital officials have said throughout the month.

On Tuesday, 26% of all 390 patients at the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals were being treated for COVID-19, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.

The hospitals reported 102 patients being treated for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, down from an all-time high of 114 on Friday.

Doctors have said that the majority of COVID patients hospitalized are young to middle-aged adults. Most of them are not vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, 38,596 residents of the Tri-Cities had cases of COVID confirmed with positive test results since the start of the pandemic. They included 23,068 residents of Benton County and 15,528 residents of Franklin County.

The local health district has confirmed the deaths of 373 residents of the two counties were caused by complications of COVID-19.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 4:32 PM.