(Update: OHA issues weekly report)
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — There are 26 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,649, the Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday.
Central Oregon health departments said the newly reported deaths included one from Deschutes County, putting the county’s total at 104.
OHA also reported 2,312 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, bringing the state total to 317,107.
COVID-19 weekly cases and hospitalizations decline, deaths rise
The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released Wednesday, shows decreases in daily cases and hospitalizations and an increase in deaths.
OHA reported 11,655 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 19. That represents a 10% decrease from the previous week.
There were 579 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down slightly from 592 last week.
There were 148 reported COVID-19 related deaths, up from 120 reported the previous week.
There were 140,538 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Sept. 12 through Sept. 18. The percentage of positive tests was 10.5%, down from 12% the previous week and the lowest level of test positivity in six weeks.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 187 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.
OHA updates reporting for schools in weekly Outbreak Report
Starting Wednesday, the weekly Outbreak Report is updating how school outbreaks will be reported.
The Outbreak Report will continue to report the number of cases in school by student and staff or volunteer status. Active and resolved outbreaks will now include all cases linked to the outbreak and will no longer differentiate cases among students and staff cases.
Outbreaks in K-12 schools are defined as having two or more cases identified, where there is evidence of transmission, at school. Outbreaks may include cases who were not at school but are close contacts of those exposed at school. This provides a more accurate picture of the scale of K-12 related outbreaks and how they may link to other cases in the community, OHA said.
Schools should continue to notify their local public health authority of all positive cases identified among students and staff, including those who are reporting a positive at-home COVID-19 test.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 939, which is five fewer than Tuesday. There are 270 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is six more than Tuesday.
| 9/22/2021 Available Beds (and Percentage of Staffed Beds Available) | ||||||||
| Statewide | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 | Region 5 | Region 6 | Region 7 | Region 9 | |
| Adult ICU beds available | 39 (6%) | 22 (6%) | 1 (1%) | 7 (16%) | 7 (12%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (4%) | 0 (0%) |
| Adult non-ICU beds available | 315 (7%) | 84 (4%) | 20 (3%) | 78 (13%) | 38 (9%) | 3 (6%) | 45 (11%) | 47 (41%) |
There are 39 available adult ICU beds out of 649 total (6% availability) and 315 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,272 (7% availability).
St. Charles Bend reported 90 COVID-19 patients as of early Wednesday, 17 of whom were in the ICU, with 15 on ventilators. Two of the 17 ICU patients were fully vaccinated, while 17 of the total 90 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 9,765 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Tuesday. Of this total, 3,965 were administered on Tuesday: 1,774 were initial doses, 1,712 were second doses and 451 were third doses. The remaining 5,800 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Tuesday.
The seven-day running average is now 7,763 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered 2,931,592 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,891,669 doses of Moderna and 211,673 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of Wednesday, 2,714,604 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,479,317 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
These data are preliminary and subject to change.
Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated Wednesday.
Cases and deaths
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday are in the following counties: Baker (19), Benton (41), Clackamas (218), Clatsop (14), Columbia (33), Coos (53), Crook (12), Curry (4), Deschutes (169), Douglas (59), Gilliam (1), Grant (68), Harney (27), Hood River (9), Jackson (106), Jefferson (21), Josephine (33), Klamath (39), Lake (9), Lane (143), Lincoln (28), Linn (119), Malheur (41), Marion (266), Morrow (7), Multnomah (319), Polk (45), Sherman (1), Tillamook (12), Umatilla (72), Union (16), Wallowa (13), Wasco (18), Washington (224) and Yamhill (53).
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 our webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information