The Oregon Health Authority announced 336 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with two new deaths, increasing the number of deaths from the state’s coronavirus to 2,206.
Governor Kate Brown and state public health officials have also announced that residents 45 and older who have underlying medical conditions will be in the next wave of Oregon residents to start receiving COVID-19 vaccines after the elderly.
Officials say this group – along with farm workers, food processing workers and people who are homeless – will be eligible until March 29.
On July 1, anyone aged 16 or older must become eligible, officials say.
The state is currently vaccinating Oregon residents age 70 and older, a process hindered by slow websites and failed sign-ups for consultations. More than 250,000 residents aged 65 to 69 will become eligible for vaccination next Monday.
The state health authority reported that 25% of Oregon’s elderly were inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine. The state hopes to have enough vaccines to immunize at least 75% of all elderly people by March 29.
Friday’s case counts are lower than expected because a large volume of laboratory test reports were not processed until after Thursday’s business hours and could not be included in the case count, according to with the health authority.
Where new cases are by county: Baker (2), Benton (7), Clackamas (20), Columbia (5), Coos (15), Curry (8), Deschutes (17), Douglas (19), Harney (1), Hood River (1 ), Jackson (16), Jefferson (1), Josephine (14), Klamath (9), Lane (28), Linn (12), Malheur (2), Marion (38), Morrow (2), Multnomah (47 ), Polk (10), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (8), Union (6), Washington (38) and Yamhill (8).
Who died: The death of 2,205th COVID-19 is a 73-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive on February 10 and died on February 24 at the Mercy Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
The death of 2,206º COVID-19 was a 55-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive on January 28 and died on February 23 at the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. The presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
The prevalence of infections: On Friday, the state reported 623 new positive tests out of 17,803 tests performed, equaling a 3.5% positivity rate.
Who was infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew between the following age groups: 0-9 (24); 10-19 (54); 20-29 (65); 30-39 (56); 40-49 (41); 50-59 (34); 60-69 (21); 70-79 (19); 80 and older (10).
Who is in the hospital: The state reported that 152 Oregon residents with confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized on Friday, four fewer than on Thursday. Of those, 34 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care units, four fewer than on Thursday.
Vaccines administered: Oregon administered 911,648 first and second vaccine doses of 1,177,945 received, which is about 77.4% of the state’s supply. Oregon reported 30,594 new doses administered, which include 22,353 on Thursday and the remainder of previous days.
Since it started: Oregon reported 154,878 confirmed or suspected infections and 2,206 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the country. To date, the state has reported more than 3,564,120 test lab reports.
– Jaimie Ding
[email protected]; 503-221-4395; @j_dingdingding