The Oregon Health Authority announced 492 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
No new deaths were reported. But more details have surfaced about an infant boy who died the same day he tested positive for COVID-19 last month, making him Oregon’s youngest victim of the deadly coronavirus.
David James Wadley Jr. is the first Oregon child age nine or younger to die of COVID-19. He was born prematurely in Pendleton after his mother tested positive for the virus.
He died Jan. 17, moments after his COVID-19 test came back positive.
Children are less likely than adults to develop severe cases of the virus, state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said in a statement, and infant deaths from COVID-19 are “extremely rare.”
Where the new cases are by county:
Baker (2), Benton (25), Clackamas (27), Columbia (12), Coos (26), Curry (8), Deschutes (11), Douglas (21), Harney (3), Hood River (2), Jackson (52), Jefferson (5), Josephine (23), Klamath (10), Lake (3), Lane (38), Lincoln (1), Linn (8), Malheur (6), Marion (42), Morrow (5), Multnomah (61), Polk (15), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (12), Union (4), Wallowa (2), Wasco (1), Washington (54) and Yamhill (12).
Who died: No new deaths were reported Friday.
Prevalence of infections: The state reported 487 new positive tests out of 16,461 tests performed. That’s a 2.9% positivity rate.
Who got infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew among the following age groups: 0-9(30); 10-19(73); 20-29(114); 30-39(77); 40-49(51); 50-59(61); 60-69(34); 70-79(21); 80 and older(14).
Who’s in the hospital: The state said Friday that there are 176 people hospitalized statewide with COVID-19, six more than Thursday. Forty-nine of those people are in intensive care unit beds, three fewer than the previous day.
Vaccines: The state reported 25,866 new doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been added to the state registry as of Friday. Of that total, 18,710 were administered on Thursday and 7,156 were administered on previous days but entered into the registry Thursday. The state has now administered 755,657 first and second doses of the vaccine, or about 81% of its supply.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 152,190 confirmed or presumptive positive cases and 2,149 deaths since the pandemic began, among the lowest per capita rates in the nation. To date, the state has reported results from 3,465,787 COVID-19 tests.
-Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR