The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday announced 649 new coronavirus cases and 10 more deaths as Gov. Kate Brown’s office said it would comply with a judge’s order to begin vaccinating inmates in state prisons.
Officials will not challenge an order from a federal judge requiring Oregon to vaccinate prisoners sooner that the state’s planned March timeline.
Brown’s office said accelerating vaccinations for prisoners will not impact the schedule for teachers and seniors, who are or will soon become eligible. But it’s not immediately clear how that’ll be possible or, if accurate, why the state didn’t initially choose to vaccinate prisoners sooner.
Wednesday marked the 18th consecutive day with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections below 1,000.
Cases, hospitalizations and the rate of positive tests remain significantly below records set in December.
Oregon is nearing the 2,000-death milestone and will likely surpass it this week. At least 42 of the deaths are among Oregonians serving prison sentences.
Where the new cases are by county: Baker (5), Benton (32), Clackamas (40), Clatsop (5), Columbia (1), Coos (16), Crook (7), Curry (1), Deschutes (20), Douglas (19), Harney (4), Hood River (1), Jackson (41), Jefferson (7), Josephine (22), Klamath (4), Lake (2), Lane (91), Lincoln (8), Linn (21), Malheur (5), Marion (66), Morrow (1), Multnomah (57), Polk (26), Umatilla (31), Union (7), Wallowa (3), Wasco (4), Washington (62) and Yamhill (40).
Deaths: The state Wednesday released details of 23 fatalities announced Tuesday and of 10 deaths announced Wednesday.
Oregon’s 1,959th death linked to coronavirus is an 87-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive Jan. 22 and died Jan. 30 at his residence.
The 1,960 fatality is a 96-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Jan. 29 at her residence.
The 1,961st death is a 95-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Jan. 18 and died Jan. 30 her residence.
The 1,962nd fatality is a 61-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive Jan. 1 and died Jan. 19 at his residence.
The 1,963rd death is a 96-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive Dec. 31 and died Jan. 11 at his residence.
The 1,964th fatality is an 85-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Dec. 28 and died Jan. 11 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
The 1,965th death is a 90-year-old Hood River County woman who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Jan. 31 at her residence.
The 1,966th fatality is an 87-year-old Columbia County woman who tested positive Dec. 15 and died Jan. 8 at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center.
The 1,967th death is a 61-year-old Lane County woman who tested positive Dec. 10 and died Jan. 25 at her residence.
The 1,968th fatality is a 70-year-old Jackson County man who tested positive Jan. 15 and died Jan. 30 at Providence Medford Medical Center.
The 1,969th death is a 66-year-old Jackson County man with no underlying medical conditions who tested positive Dec. 28 and died Jan. 28 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.
The 1,970th fatality is a 64-year-old Marion County man who died Jan. 30 at Santiam Hospital. His death certificate listed COVID-19 as a cause or significant condition contributing to his death.
The 1,971st death is a 62-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Feb. 1 at Salem Hospital.
The 1,972nd fatality is a 68-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive Dec. 21 and died Jan. 26 at Salem Hospital.
The 1,973rd death is a 79-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Dec. 7 and died Jan. 29 at his residence.
The 1,974th fatality is a 58-year-old Morrow County man who tested positive Jan. 30 and died Feb. 1 at Good Shepherd Community Hospital.
The 1,975th death is an 83-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Nov. 23 and died Jan. 9 at his residence.
The 1,976th fatality is a 66-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Nov. 13 and died Dec. 9 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
The 1,977th death is an 87-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Dec. 5 and died Dec. 31 at his residence.
The 1,978th fatality is a 73-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Dec. 22 and died Jan. 24 at her residence.
The 1,979th death is a 95-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Jan. 8 and died Jan. 31 at her residence.
The 1,980th fatality is an 81-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Jan. 27 and died Jan. 30. State officials are confirming where she died.
The 1,981st death is a 69-year-old Yamhill County woman who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Jan. 26 at Willamette Valley Medical Center.
The 1,982nd fatality is a 59-year-old Baker County man who tested positive Feb. 1 and died Feb. 1 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.
The 1,983rd death is a 99-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Jan. 26 and died Jan. 24 at her residence.
The 1,984th fatality is a 64-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Jan. 24 and died Jan. 25 at her residence.
The 1,985th death is a 71-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive Jan. 20 and died Jan. 28 at her residence.
The 1,986th fatality is a 94-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive Jan. 4 and died Jan. 31 at her residence.
The 1,987th death is an 86-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Jan. 31 at his residence.
The 1,988th fatality is a 65-year-old Umatilla County man who tested positive Jan. 11 and died Jan. 26 at his residence.
The 1,989th death is an 81-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Nov. 29 and died Jan. 2 at her residence.
The 1,990th fatality is a 72-year-old Umatilla County man who tested positive Jan. 16 and died Jan. 29 at his residence.
The 1,991st death is a 98-year-old Yamhill County woman who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Jan. 30. State officials are confirming where she died.
Unless noted above, each person who died had underlying health conditions or state officials were working to determine if the person had underlying medical conditions.
The prevalence of infections: The state reported 575 new positive tests out of 15,079 tests performed, equaling a 3.8% positivity rate.
Who got infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew among the following age groups: 0-9 (24); 10-19 (82); 20-29 (144); 30-39 (97); 40-49 (87); 50-59 (78); 60-69 (57); 70-79 (38); 80 and older (18).
Who’s in the hospital: The state reported 266 Oregonians with confirmed coronavirus infections in the hospital Wednesday, four more than Tuesday. Of those, 63 coronavirus patients were in intensive care units, two more than Tuesday.
Vaccines: Oregon reported 471,966 doses of vaccine have been administered, or about 67% of the doses received. Oregon reported 17,720 newly administered doses, which includes 12,173 on Tuesday and the remainder from previous days.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 144,605 confirmed or presumed infections and 1,991 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 3,233,826 lab reports from tests.
— Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt