The Oregon Health Authority announced 517 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest case count reported so far this month, along with five new deaths.
The deaths pushed Oregon to more than 2,300 total deaths during the pandemic. And the count of reported cases is the highest since February 25, when authorities reported 553 confirmed or presumed cases.
The numbers arrive when Governor Kate Brown said Multnomah County would move from a high risk of spreading COVID to a moderate level of risk, joining Clackamas and Washington counties.
The move makes it possible to further relax indoor activities and commerce in Multnomah County, where affected restaurants, gyms and other businesses can increase occupancy to 50% on Friday.
Only two counties in Oregon – Coos and Douglas – will be banned from offering indoor meals according to the latest metrics. Meanwhile, 13 of the state’s 36 counties will be rated at the lowest risk level, the highest since the state instituted the risk assessment program in November.
Tuesday’s high case count was led by Multnomah, the state’s most populous county, which reported 76 new cases.
Where new cases are by county: Baker (4), Benton (12), Clackamas (47), Columbia (5), Coos (27), Crook (1), Curry (11), Deschutes (14), Douglas (15), Hood River (1) , Jackson (49), Jefferson (4), Josephine (29), Klamath (15), Lake (2), Lane (17), Lincoln (4), Linn (14), Malheur (2), Marion (61) , Morrow (1), Multnomah (76), Polk (8), Tillamook (8), Umatilla (17), Union (7), Washington (56) and Yamhill (10).
Who died: The death of a COVID-19 with 2,299th COVID-19 in Oregon was an 83-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on February 19 and died on March 5 at the Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.
The 2,300 death in Oregon is that of a 43-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive on March 7 and died on March 8 at Salem Hospital.
Oregon’s 2,301st death was a 64-year-old woman from Baker County who tested positive on February 18 and died on March 7 at the St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.
Oregon’s 2,302nd death was a 62-year-old woman from Multnomah County who tested positive on January 11 and died on February 11 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
The 2,303 death in Oregon is of a 67-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on December 21 and died on February 28 at the OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center.
Each person who died had underlying medical problems or state officials were working to determine whether the person had underlying health problems.
The prevalence of infections: On Tuesday, the state reported 487 new positive tests out of 12,599 tests carried out, equivalent to a positivity rate of 3.9%.
Who was infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew between the following age groups: 0-9 (25); 10-19 (43); 20-29 (87); 30-39 (80); 40-49 (75); 50-59 (81); 60-69 (57); 70-79 (31); 80 and older (11).
Who is in the hospital: The state reported that 134 people were hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19, which is 15 more than on Monday. There were 31 patients with COVID-19 in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, two less than in similar care on Monday.
Vaccines administered: Oregon administered 1,179,510 first and second doses until Tuesday. The state reported 15,945 new doses. Of those vaccines, 8,760 doses were administered on Monday and 7,185 were administered in the previous days, but entered the system on Monday.
Since it started: Oregon reported 158,007 confirmed or suspected infections and 2,303 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the country. To date, the state has reported 3,889,664 test lab reports.
– Andrew Theen; [email protected]; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen