Weekly COVID-19 cases increase, deaths, hospitalizations decline, March 19

The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Wednesday, shows increased daily cases and declines in hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week. OHA reported 2,272 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, March 8 through Sunday, March 14. That represents a 31% increase from the previous week. New COVID-19 related hospitalizations also dropped to 130, down from 139 last week. Reported COVID-19 related deaths dropped to 26, down from 86 last week. There were 94,079 tests for COVID-19 for the week of March 7 through March 13 — a 27% drop from last week. The percentage of positive tests was sharply higher, at 3.6%. People 70 years of age and older have accounted for 40% of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 77% of COVID-19 related deaths. Wednesday’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 37 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.