EDITOR’S NOTE: We had been calling them “record-breaking days”, now the numbers are “milestones”… Tillamook County hit one today with 12 cases being reported, the most cases in one day in the county. Total cases in Tillamook County is at 212.
PORTLAND, Ore. — COVID-19 has claimed 48 more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 1,262, the Oregon Health Authority reported today December 16th.
Oregon Health Authority reported 1,562 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 97,622.
The new cases reported are in the following counties: Baker (7), Benton (31), Clackamas (166), Clatsop (7), Columbia (5), Coos (11), Crook (4), Curry (3), Deschutes (50), Douglas (16), Gilliam (2), Harney (4), Hood River (16), Jackson (64), Jefferson (29), Josephine (29), Klamath (20), Lake (2), Lane (105), Lincoln (5), Linn (51), Malheur (16), Marion (183), Morrow (8), Multnomah (455), Polk (30), Sherman (2), Tillamook (12), Umatilla (34), Union (9), Wallowa (1), Wasco (4), Washington (148) and Yamhill (33).
This daily media release includes an update on the COVID-19 Weekly Report and the Weekly Outbreak Report, along with a daily update on COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Today’s death reporting, coupled with yesterday’s, represents the highest two-day death COVID-19-associated death toll since the beginning of the pandemic in Oregon.
Each death is a sad reminder of the danger posed by the virus and of the need – even with vaccine now becoming available – for Oregonians to continue taking the steps to stem the spread of the virus by doing the following:
- Maintain 6 feet of physical distance.
- Wear a face covering when outside the house.
- Practice good hand hygiene.
- Avoid gatherings with non-household members.
- If you have symptoms, consult with a medical provider quickly to get instructions on how to care for yourself and your household members and whether to get tested.
The surge in reported deaths is the result of steadily high daily case counts and the manner of processing death reports.
The counting of deaths from death certificates may take additional time to process because they are determined by physicians and then sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further review and confirmation. The information is then reported back to states.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 554, which is 10 more than yesterday. There are 113 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is one more than yesterday.
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.
More information about hospital capacity can be found here.
Weekly report shows decline in daily cases
OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows a drop in weekly cases, deaths and people hospitalized for COVID-19.
OHA reported 9,222 new daily cases during the week of Monday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 13, an 11% decrease from the previous week, reversing a trend of seven consecutive record high weekly case counts.
There were 491 people hospitalized for COVID-19, a slight decline from the previous week.
There were 116 reported COVID-19 reported deaths, down from 133 the previous week.
People age 20 to 49 have accounted for 55% of the cases, while people 70 and older have accounted for 76% of the deaths.
There were fewer tests for COVID-19 reported for the week of Dec. 6 through Dec. 12. The number of COVID-19 tests administered to Oregonians dropped to 149,243 from 170,964 the previous week. The percentage of positive tests was lower, at 7.4%.
The OHA Outbreak Report publishes data on COVID-19 cases and deaths in care facilities; senior living facilities and congregate care settings and on active and resolved COVID-19 outbreaks.