The Oregon Health Authority reported 340 new coronavirus cases statewide Monday, including a record-breaking 119 confirmed or presumed infections in Multnomah County.
“This disease is widespread in Multnomah County,” Dr. Jennifer Vines, the county health officer, said during a news conference hours before the latest numbers were disclosed by state officials.
Oregon’s most populous county expects to see increasing cases going forward, as each person with COVID-19 may infect, on average, about 1.5 others, county officials said.
“My expectation is that cases will continue to increase simply based on what we know right now,” Vines said, adding that she hopes the pace of rising infections will slow eventually if residents heed physical distancing recommendations.
Coronavirus cases statewide have appeared to plateau in the past week, meanwhile. The daily average during the span is 320, down slightly from a high of 344 on July 20.
The Oregon Health Authority on Monday also released new data showing that slightly fewer people tested for coronavirus are infected.
Just under one in 20 people tested had coronavirus, according to the latest weekly report from July 19-25. It’s the first time since the end of June that the positivity rate dipped below 5%.
Where the new cases are by county: Benton (2), Clackamas (7), Columbia (1), Coos (1), Crook (1), Deschutes (11), Douglas (1), Harney (1), Hood River (1), Jackson (11), Jefferson (9), Lane (8), Lincoln (1), Malheur (8), Marion (26), Morrow (4), Multnomah (119), Polk (9), Umatilla (47), Wasco (1), Washington (61) and Yamhill (9).
New fatalities: The Oregon Health Authority did not report any deaths Monday, marking the first time that’s happened since July 11.
The prevalence of infections: State officials had not updated testing tallies since Friday. Since then, the state reported that 15,982 people have been tested, with 967 infections identified. That’s a positivity rate of 6.1%.
Who got infected: State officials had not updated confirmed or presumed infections, by age, since Friday. Since then, the state reported new cases among the following: 0-9 (66); 10-19 (143); 20-29 (222); 30-39 (162); 40-49 (169); 50-59 (110); 60-69 (61) 70-79 (29); 80 and older (22).
Who’s in the hospital: The state on Monday reported 151 Oregonians are currently in the hospital, down sharply from the 168 reported Friday. Oregon remains well below its capacity, with hundreds of hospital beds and ventilators available.
Since it began: Oregon has now reported 17,088 confirmed or presumed infections and 289 deaths, among the lowest totals in the nation. To date, 381,718 Oregonians have been tested.
Correction: This article has been updated to state that just under one out of 20 people tested positive in the most recent weekly report.
— Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt
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