Oregon reports 862 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 50 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 50 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,116, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. OHA reported 862 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 387,485. Scheduling note: OHA will be closed Thursday, Nov. 25, and Friday, Nov. 26, so employees can commemorate Thanksgiving with family and friends. For this reason, there will be no Daily Media Release, Oregon Coronavirus Update or other OHA reports and communications tomorrow, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – Nov. 25 – 28. OHA will be open regular hours on Monday, Nov. 29. Thank you for understanding.
COVID-19 weekly cases and hospitalizations decline, deaths rise
OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows a decrease in daily cases and hospitalizations and an increase in deaths. OHA reported 5,698 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Nov. 15, through Sunday, Nov. 21. That represents a 2.4% decrease from the previous week, despite a 19% increase in reported tests.
There were 133,410 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Nov. 14 through Nov. 20. The percentage of positive tests declined slightly to 6%, down from 6.5% the previous week. The overall incidence of reported COVID-19 in Oregon varied by county vaccination rate but continues to be less in counties with higher vaccination rates and the lowest in the five counties where the vaccination rates were more than 70%. There were 268 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 356 last week — a 25% drop. There were 214 reported COVID-19-related deaths, up from 183 reported the previous week, bringing the state’s toll for the pandemic to more than 5,000. The past three weeks of data for COVID-19 related deaths also reflect ongoing data reconciliation of COVID-19-related deaths that primarily occurred from May to Aug. 2021, as reported last month. Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 61 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.
OHA releases new COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report
OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released Wednesday, found that 71.5% of the 5,875 reported COVID-19 cases between Nov. 14 and Nov. 20 occurred in unvaccinated people. There were 1,672 breakthrough cases, accounting for 28.5% of all cases. The average age of the breakthrough cases during that period was 46. Twenty-eight breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings. There were 71 cases in people aged 12 to 17. To date, there have been 43,398 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon. The average age of all cases is 48. Breakthrough cases have been reported in all 36 counties. Cases of COVID-19 are far more common in unvaccinated people. The report shows that the rate of COVID-19 in unvaccinated people is 4 times higher than in vaccinated people. To date, 4.4% of all vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized and 1.2% have died. The average age of vaccinated people who died was 81. Vaccination remains the most effective tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon remains very small when compared to the more than 2.9 million Oregonians who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 391, which is 13 fewer than Tuesday. There are 97 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is five more than Tuesday. There are 51 available adult ICU beds out of 681 total (7% availability) and 347 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,098 (8% 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 responding to the current surge in COVID-19. 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 23,407 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Nov. 23. Of that total, 11,823 were administered that day. There were 2,548 initial doses, 556 second doses and 8,655 third and booster doses. The remaining 11,.584 doses were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Nov.23. The seven-day running average is now 18,737 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 3,479,971 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 58,111 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,222,628 doses of Moderna and 241,258 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of today, 2,930,891 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,650,699 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 today are in the following counties: Baker (10), Benton (12), Clackamas (71), Clatsop (11), Columbia (14), Coos (13), Crook (7), Curry (7), Deschutes (88), Douglas (37), Harney (1), Hood River (8), Jackson (67), Jefferson (2), Josephine (12), Klamath (21), Lane (67), Lincoln (15), Linn (51), Malheur (7), Marion (68), Morrow (2), Multnomah (93), Polk (23), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (15), Union (5), Wallowa (5), Wasco (3), Washington (94), and Yamhill (29).