Oregon reports 7 more COVID-19 deaths, 1,755 new cases

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- COVID-19 has claimed seven more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 1,575, the Oregon Health Authority reported Friday.

OHA also reported 1,755 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, bringing the state total to 122,847.

Vaccinations in Oregon

On Friday, OHA recorded 7,994 doses of vaccine administered — including 578 second doses — raising the state's total number of doses administered to 74,914. This figure is based on preliminary reports of 5,706 doses administered Thursday, as well as 2,288 doses administered on prior days that had not been recorded. OHA's daily media updates provide information that is preliminary and subject to change. OHA's dashboards provide more updated vaccination data.

All vaccinations occurred at Oregon hospitals, long-term care facilities, emergency medical service (EMS) agencies, urgent care facilities and Local Public Health Authorities (LPHAs).

To date, 252,350 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon.

St. Charles reported having given 2,954 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations as of early Friday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 451, which is 11 fewer than Thursday. There are 88 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is three fewer than Thursday.

St. Charles Bend reported 35 COVID-19 patients as of early Friday, with five in the ICU, all on ventilators.

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.

More information about hospital capacity can be found here.

New COVID-19 model released

Today, the Oregon Health Authority released its latest COVID-19 model, which estimated that transmission of COVID-19 decreased dramatically between late November and mid-December before surging sharply upward.

According to the model, the statewide transmission in late November dropped to an effective reproduction rate – the expected number of secondary cases that a single case generates – of 0.8 before surging to 1.29 as of Dec. 23.

At the current level of transmission, the projected average of new daily cases will be 1,780 between Jan. 13 and Jan. 26, with 85 additional daily hospitalizations. 

If transmission mirrors the levels from the late November to mid-December model, daily cases will number about 1,400 and hospitalizations would hover at about 55 per day.

The model shows that more Oregonians – about 53% – would accept the COVID-19 vaccine and that three out of four Oregonians are regularly wearing masks or face coverings.

The projections on spread of the virus emphasize the importance of continuing to practice preventive measures that can slow the spread of the disease.

• Maintain physical distance.
• Wear a face covering or mask.
• Avoid gatherings with non-household members.
• Practice good hand hygiene. 

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Friday are in the following counties: Baker (3), Benton (43), Clackamas (203), Clatsop (8), Columbia (12), Coos (18), Crook (3), Curry (4), Deschutes (92), Douglas (27), Gilliam (3), Harney (1), Hood River (20), Jackson (83), Jefferson (3), Josephine (60), Klamath (115), Lake (1), Lane (105), Lincoln (5), Linn (42), Malheur (24), Marion (179), Morrow (12), Multnomah (256), Polk (42), Sherman (4), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (44), Union (20), Wasco (18), Washington (253) and Yamhill (47).

Oregon’s 1,569th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 21 and died on Jan. 6 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,570th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Dec. 22 and died on Jan. 4 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,571st COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Dec. 29 and died on Jan. 6 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,572nd COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Dec. 3 and died on Jan. 3 at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,573rd COVID-19 death is a 50-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on Dec. 27 and died on Jan. 5 at Good Shepherd Community Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,574th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Dec. 21 and died on Jan. 5 at Oregon Health & Science University. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 1,575th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Dec. 26 and died on Jan. 6 at PeaceHealth Sacred Health Medical Center at Riverbend. He had underlying conditions.

NOTE: Updated information is available for Oregon’s 1,515th death. She is a 53-year-old woman in Harney county who died on Jan. 4 at St. Charles Bend. She was originally reported to have died at Harney District Hospital.

Mental and emotional resources for difficult times: 

• Mental and emotional health resources are available on OHA's Safe + Strong website. 
• Or call the Safe + Strong Helpline at 800-923-4357 (800-923-HELP). The line offers free, 24-7 emotional support and resource referral to anyone who needs it — not only those experiencing a mental health crisis.