Friday, Sept 18, 2020 update
Oregon reports 215 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, no new deaths
The state’s death toll from COVID-19 is unchanged from yesterday and remains at 521, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 215 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 30,060.
The new cases are in the following counties: Benton (2), Clackamas (11), Clatsop (1), Columbia (3), Deschutes (7), Douglas (1), Grant (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (14), Jefferson (7), Josephine (2), Klamath (8), Lane (23), Linn (11), Malheur (11), Marion (28), Morrow (1), Multnomah (43), Polk (2), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (7), Washington (29) and Yamhill (3).
Oregon joins Western States Pact in testing exposure notification technology
Governor Kate Brown announced yesterday that Oregon is joining Western States Pact members California, Washington, Colorado and Nevada in a pilot project to test COVID-19 exposure notification technology. The pilot project will test the Exposure Notification Express mobile application developed by Google and Apple. For those who voluntarily choose to use the exposure notification technology, the app confidentially notifies individuals who may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus. Privacy and security are central to the design of the technology, which does not collect location data from any device and never shares user identities. Users must opt into the technology.
“Knowledge is power when it comes to stopping the spread of COVID-19, and this pilot project will help people make informed decisions to keep themselves healthy, while still protecting individual privacy,” said Governor Brown. “COVID-19 knows no state borders, and my goal is to make sure, if more widely implemented, this exposure notification technology is made available to those communities that have been disproportionately impacted by this disease — Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Pacific Islander and Tribal communities, as well as those living in the rural parts of our states.”
Oregon reports 187 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 3 new deaths
COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 497, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
OHA also reported 187 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 28,654.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (4), Clackamas (12), Clatsop (3), Columbia (1), Coos (3), Deschutes (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (8), Jefferson (3), Josephine (1), Klamath (2), Lane (5), Lincoln (1), Linn (6), Malheur (16), Marion (35), Morrow (1), Multnomah (33), Polk (4), Umatilla (6), Union (3), Wasco (1), Washington (27) and Yamhill (9).
Oregon’s 495th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Aug. 27 and died on Sept. 9 in his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 496th COVID-19 death is a 56-year-old man in Malheur County who tested positive on July 31 and died on Sept. 9 at St. Alphonsus Medical Center Nampa in Idaho. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 497th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Aug. 28 and died on Sept. 8 in her residence. She had underlying conditions.
As we send this message, we know many of you are dealing with being evacuated from your homes or have friends and loved ones who have been evacuated.
Many who have been evacuated don’t have homes to return to. The wildfires, on top of the COVID-19 public health crisis, increase the stress and anxiety we’re facing. We’re thinking of you, and our hearts go out to everyone who is experiencing loss and struggling to get through this time. We will continue to share resources from OHA and other agencies to support your health and safety. If there’s anything you’d like us to share, please feel free to reach out to us. We always appreciate feedback from our readers.
This is an incredibly challenging time for many reasons. It’s also important to know that if you need emotional support, help is available for you.
- SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to speak to a trained crisis counselor.
- If you are experiencing a crisis, in an emergency, call 911. Help is also available from Lines for Life, a suicide prevention organization with specific resources for youth, military personnel and their families, and those affected by substance abuse problems. Visit linesforlife.org or call one of their helplines:
- Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish
- Alcohol and Drug Helpline: 1-800-923-4357
- Military Helpline: 1-888-457-4838
- Youthline: 1-877-968-8491 or text teen2teen to 839863
- OHA also has contacts for crisis services by county on its website.
How to comfortably wear a face covering in the heat
As temperatures climb into the 90s in many parts of Oregon, it might feel out of place to wear a mask. But it’s still true that wearing a face covering will help slow the spread of COVID-19. The graphic below lists some ways to make wearing a mask more comfortable as temperatures rise.
Oregon reports 269 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 4 new deaths
COVID-19 has claimed four more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 458, the Oregon Health Authority reported today. Oregon Health Authority reported 269 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 26,554.
The new cases are in the following counties: Benton (5), Clackamas (16), Columbia (2), Coos (3), Deschutes (3), Hood River (9), Jackson (13), Lane (9), Lincoln (1), Linn (5), Malheur (22), Marion (48), Morrow (7), Multnomah (36), Polk (8), Sherman (1), Umatilla (41), Union (1), Washington (35), and Yamhill (4).
Oregon’s 455th COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old woman in Douglas County who tested positive on August 9 and died on August 29, at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 456th COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on August 8 and died on August 25, at Salem Hospital. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 457th COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on August 25 and died on August 28 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 458th COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on July 30 and died on August 28, at Salem Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
In the press conference, OHA State Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger discussed the reasoning behind some of the new rules:
- Reducing gathering sizes in venues from 250 to 100 across the state: Taking this action, even in Phase II counties, means fewer people will be close together in confined spaces.
- That reduces the risk of “super-spreader” events seen in our state and around the nation.
- The farther we are apart, the harder we make it for the virus to spread.
- New mask requirements: We learn more about COVID-19 every day. The science is growing and clear that masks slow the spread of COVID-19.
- Masks protect other people from virus-laden droplets that might be transmitted by the wearer.
- There’s also emerging evidence that masks protect the wearer from other people by filtering out some virus particles that can cause infection.
- Imposing a 10 p.m. curfew on all restaurants and bars: Wherever people gather, there’s a higher risk COVID-19 will be present and will pose a danger.
- Many restaurants and bars have made efforts to provide a safer experience to their customers.
- However, a uniform statewide curfew curtails the amount of time people can interact in restaurants and bars, which means fewer opportunities for COVID-19 to spread.
He also discussed what’s driving increased COVID-19 cases in Oregon.
Big outbreaks have become less of a factor. Large outbreaks in workplaces, long-term care facilities and other settings account for a diminishing proportion of recent cases. Oregon also has more resources to assist with isolation and quarantine. For people to stay limit the spread of disease to others they often need help with shelter, food and other necessities.
However, sporadic cases are growing. Sporadic cases are people who become infected with COVID-19 and don’t have any epidemiological link to any other known case. As of last week, 47 percent of cases in Oregon can’t be traced to a known case. That means the virus is circulating more widely in the community – diffuse and largely undetected.
Oregon’s contact tracing capacity is under strain. Last week, case investigators were only able to contact 93 percent of new cases within 24 hours of diagnosis, which is below our goal of 95 percent. That dip adds urgency to our efforts to bolster investigation and contact tracing capacity across the state – and our need to contain community spread.
Thursday, July 23, 2020 Statistics
Oregon reports 264 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 2 new deaths
COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 271, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 264 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 15,393.
The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (1), Benton (3), Clackamas (24), Clatsop (1), Coos (3), Crook (2), Curry (1), Deschutes (8), Douglas (2), Grant (1), Hood River (4), Jackson (11), Jefferson (6), Josephine (1), Klamath (6), Lane (6), Lincoln (2), Linn (6), Malheur (13), Marion (31), Morrow (3), Multnomah (51), Polk (4), Umatilla (24), Wasco (1), Washington (45), and Yamhill (4).
Oregon’s 270th COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on July 9 and died on July 20 in his residence. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 271st COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on July 16 and died on July 21 at Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.