By Annette Cary
Tri-City Herald
Three more Tri-Citians have died due to complications of COVID-19, pushing the total for the bi-county area to 30, according to the Washington state Department of Health.
The number of cases now stands at 509. That’s a 6 percent increase in 24 hours, according to the Benton Franklin Health District. The total was 443 on Friday.
Four more local healthcare workers have COVID-19, bringing the total from the start of the outbreak to 101. They work in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes.
The Benton Franklin Health District continues to investigate at least one of the three deaths reported by the state, putting its death toll for the Tri-Cities area at 29.
The new deaths reported by the local health district are a Benton County man in his 90s and a Benton County woman in her 80s.
Just two of the deaths reported have been in Franklin County.
Some 21 of the deaths have been linked to retirement centers and long-term care centers, with six homes in Kennewick and Richland reporting COVID-19 cases.
Only two counties in the state have had more deaths than Benton County.
They are King County with 292 deaths and Snohomish with 70 deaths as of Sunday, according to the state Department of Health.
The total deaths in Benton and Franklin counties included nine people who were in their 90s, 10 in their 80s, five in their 70s and five in their 60s.
The state reports deaths for people who were known to be positive for the new coronavirus, and the local health district waits for a death certificate to be issued to look for indications that deaths were linked to complications of COVID-19.
Tri-Cities area cases
The case total for the two local counties on Monday included 337 in Benton County and 172 in Franklin County.
Benton County cases include 259 confirmed by testing for the new coronavirus and 78 additional probable cases for which testing was not done, but people developed symptoms after close contact with a person who tested positive.
Franklin County cases include 122 confirmed by testing and 50 additional probable cases.
Benton Franklin Health District has been reporting probable cases because of a shortage of supplies to test patients for COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area, contributing to a potentially inaccurate picture of the number of cases.
By age, there are 149 cases in those older than 60, who are considered at high risk of serious complications from COVID-19. There are 51 cases in those 20 and younger.
The number of cases reported at retirement homes and nursing and other long-term care facilities increased by just two since Friday. Cases may be either staff or residents.
Life Care Center of Richland had one new case for at total of 87, and Regency Canyon Lakes in Kennewick had the other new case for a total of 51.
Bonaventure Senior Living of Richland had 13 cases, Solstice Senior Living of Kennewick had eight cases, Affinity at Southridge in Kennewick had three cases and Parkview Estates in Kennewick had one case.
All the homes but Affinity at Southridge and Parkview Estates also have additional suspected cases, according to the Benton Franklin Health District.
Tracing COVID-19 contacts
The Benton Franklin Health District now has 24 staff and eight volunteers working seven days a week to investigate COVID-19 cases.
Usually only six people are assigned to surveillance and investigation in the district’s communicable disease program, with several more added when there are outbreaks of illnesses such as E.coli and norovirus.
For each of the more than 400 COVID-19 cases, the communicable disease team launches an investigation.
It checks to see how the ill person is doing, and tells those not hospitalized to stay home.
The health district team asks when symptoms started and where the person may have been during that time. They could have been contagious after symptoms began.
The team also starts tracking down the person’s close contacts, who would be at highest risk for exposure to the new coronavirus.
Close contacts could include other people in the household, those caring for the ill person, anyone who was within six feet of the person for at least 10 minutes and anyone in contact with secretions with the ill person.
Contacts considered at highest risk are contacted by phone or email, depending on the information available, and asked to quarantine, or stay home, for 14 weeks and monitor themselves for symptoms.
How many recovered?
Many people who get COVID-19 recover at home and do not have to go to the hospital, says the Washington state Department of Health.
It does not have a reliable system to track those who recover, particularly those who were not tested or who were not hospitalized, it said.
Some Washington state counties with smaller number of cases have been able to track the number of people who have recovered in known cases, it said.
For example, Thurston County on Friday reported on Friday that 77 people had been diagnosed and 52 had recovered.
The Benton Franklin Health District does not have the staff to track the number of active cases versus those who have recovered.
John Hopkins University has been estimating the number of people in each country that have recovered, but says its estimates likely are substantially low.
