Oregon reports 10,947 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 20 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 20 new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,936, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Friday. OHA reported 10,947 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, bringing the state total to 570,892.
OHA briefs media on rising hospitalizations, surging cases
Health Officer and State Epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger, M.D., M.S.Ed., briefed media Friday on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. Although cases and hospitalizations are surging, Sidelinger spoke about the difference Oregonians are making by wearing masks, indoors and outdoors, by restricting gatherings and by staying home when sick or upon a positive test. “There is some light at the end of this very dark tunnel. The recent modeling suggests that cases could peak within the next week or so with hospitalizations – a lagging indicator – peaking in the following weeks,” he said. More importantly, the forecast shows the difference everyone in Oregon is making by continuing to take preventive steps. The projected peak for hospitalizations is about 1,500 in early February. Without the widespread adherence the state has seen from Oregonians, the curve would be much steeper – about 1,900 hospitalizations. “The critical difference here in Oregon is you,” Sidelinger said.
More Oregonians receive COVID-19 booster doses
Oregon continues to move closer to meeting Gov. Kate Brown’s goal, announced Dec. 17, of getting 1 million more people in the state a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January. When the challenge began, 949,749 people had received a booster dose. Since then, 428,592 Oregonians have received a booster. As of Friday, Oregon needs 571,408 people to get a booster to reach the goal and make our state safer from the Omicron variant.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 1,091, which is 38 more than Thursday. There are 144 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is two more than Thursday. There are 46 available adult ICU beds out of 664 total (7% availability) and 281 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,118 (7% availability). The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity. Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms. Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain. You can find a test here. If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Friday, OHA reported that 18,631 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Jan. 20. Of that total, 1,378 were initial doses, 947 were second doses and 5,835 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 10,376 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry Jan. 20. The seven-day running average is now 14,408 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 3,984,841 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 199,476 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,622,243 doses of Moderna and 262,847 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of Friday, 3,106,988 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 2,811,310 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. These data are preliminary and subject to change. Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated Friday.
COVID-19 Cases
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Friday are in the following counties: Baker (40), Benton (181), Clackamas (845), Clatsop (80), Columbia (201), Coos (200), Crook (114), Curry (28), Deschutes (663), Douglas (226), Gilliam (1), Harney (1), Hood River (43), Jackson (661), Jefferson (213), Josephine (243), Klamath (253), Lake (11), Lane (1,196), Lincoln (109), Linn (480), Malheur (99), Marion (1,221), Morrow (43), Multnomah (1,487), Polk (261), Tillamook (38), Umatilla (317), Union (68), Wallowa (20), Wasco (72), Washington (1,280) and Yamhill (252).