(Update: Weekly report shows drop in cases, hospitalizations, deaths)
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — There are 46 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,536, the Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday.
OHA also reported 2,069 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the state total to 305,560.
COVID-19 weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths decline amid ongoing surge
The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Wednesday, shows decreases in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
OHA reported 12,997 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Sept. 6 through Sunday, Sept. 12. That represents an 11% decrease from the previous week. Since the summer surge began in early July, 79% of cases have been sporadic, without known sources.
There were 592 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down from 1,028 last week. That marks the first drop in nine consecutive weeks of increases. While the number of new hospitalizations has decreased, this hospitalization number does not account for people who remain hospitalized from previous weeks.
Over the past week, there was a slight decrease in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 positive patients as reported through Oregon’s Hospital Capacity Web System (HOSCAP), but the number of hospitalized patients is still high.
There were 120 reported COVID-19 related deaths, down from 171 reported the previous week. It was the first decrease in the weekly death toll after six weeks of increases.
There were 149,123 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Sept. 5 through Sept. 11. The percentage of positive tests increased to 12%.
Wednesday’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 182 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.
Media briefing on COVID-19
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist, will be available to speak to the media on the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.. A livestream—with an American Sign Language simulcast—will be available for the public on YouTube.
Note: Wednesday, OHA will send the COVID-19 Weekly Data and COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Reports separately.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 1,067, which is 15 fewer than Tuesday. There are 294 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is six more than Tuesday.
There are 50 available adult ICU beds out of 653 total (8% availability) and 325 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,312 (8% availability).
St. Charles Bend reported 88 COVID-19 patients early Wednesday, 15 of whom were in the ICU, with 13 on ventilators. One of the 15 ICU patients was fully vaccinated, while 12 of the 88 patients were fully vaccinated.
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. 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.
More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
Vaccinations in Oregon
OHA reported Wednesday that 10,414 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Tuesday. Of this total, 4,123 were administered on Tuesday: 1,921 were initial doses, 1,762 were second doses and 413 were third doses. The remaining 6,291 were administered on previous days, but were entered into the vaccine registry on Tuesday.
The seven-day running average is now 7,398 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered 2,892,965 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,877,852, doses of Moderna and 207,465 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of Wednesday, 2,690,410 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,448,407 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
Cases and COVID-19 deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday are in the following counties: Baker (37), Benton (19), Clackamas (80), Clatsop (21), Columbia (17), Coos (56), Crook (18), Curry (7), Deschutes (184), Douglas (126), Grant (9), Harney (24), Hood River (16), Jackson (146), Jefferson (23), Josephine (56), Klamath (40), Lake (15), Lane (157), Lincoln (34), Linn (109), Malheur (73), Marion (204), Morrow (8), Multnomah (164), Polk (69), Sherman (2), Tillamook (25), Umatilla (59), Union (40) Wallowa (3), Wasco (18), Washington (150), Wheeler (3) and Yamhill (57).
Note: More information about the cases and deaths will be provided in an updated news release.
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit OHA’s webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.