Oregon reports 8,207 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, Oregon surpasses 6,000 COVID-19 related deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 54 new COVID-19-related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,048, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. OHA reported 8,207 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the state total to 605,363. “Today Oregon surpassed another heartbreaking milestone – the 6,000th COVID-19-related death. We’ve lost mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. Coworkers and neighbors. These losses pain all of us,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state health officer and state epidemiologist. “What makes these losses more painful is that nearly all our most recent deaths could have been prevented by COVID-19 vaccines, which remain the best protection against serious illness and death. “These losses also remind us that COVID-19 is still a formidable foe in Oregon, and the heart wrenching impact on our lives is not behind us yet.”
COVID-19 weekly cases decline, hospitalizations surge
OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report released today showed a decline in weekly cases, but sharply rising hospitalizations and a staggering test positivity rate. OHA reported 47,361 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Jan 17, through Sunday, Jan. 23 – a 9.5% decline from last week’s pandemic high. There were 638 new COVID-19-related hospitalizations, a 45% increase over the previous week, and the highest since the Delta surge peaked at 1,036 hospitalizations. COVID-19-related deaths fell to 59, from 83 the previous week. Reported COVID-19 test results dropped 9.9% to 288,232 for the week of Jan.16 to Jan.22. Test positivity rose from 22.5% to 25%. Wednesday’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 273 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19-related deaths.
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, 469,740 Oregonians have received a booster. As of today, Oregon needs 530,260 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 1,061, which is four more than Tuesday. There are 155 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is three more than Tuesday. There are 68 available adult ICU beds out of 652 total (10% availability) and 259 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,192 (6% 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
Wednesday, OHA reported that 13,818 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry Jan. 25. Of that total, 1,215 were initial doses, 867 were second doses and 5,346 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 6,250 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry Jan. 25. The seven-day running average is now 11,041 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 4,018,524 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 204,660 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,641,295 doses of Moderna and 264,049 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of Wednesday, 3,117,666 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 2,818,413 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 Wednesday.
COVID-19 Cases
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday are in the following counties: Baker (45), Benton (289), Clackamas (551), Clatsop (46), Columbia (92), Coos (158), Crook (110), Curry (33), Deschutes (541), Douglas (188), Gilliam (2), Grant (41), Harney (9), Hood River (51), Jackson (558), Jefferson (104), Josephine (224), Klamath (155), Lake (20), Lane (692), Lincoln (69), Linn (398), Malheur (78), Marion (910), Morrow (55), Multnomah (931), Polk (238), Sherman (6), Tillamook (48), Umatilla (198), Union (55), Wallowa (26), Wasco (82), Washington (911), Wheeler (14) and Yamhill (279).