Oregon reports 22nd COVID-19 death, 73 new cases, 4 in Deschutes

OHA: Masks can supplement, not replace other key steps to curb spread

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- COVID-19 has claimed one more life in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 22, the Oregon Health Authority reported Friday.

OHA also reported 73 new cases of COVID-19 as of 8 a.m. Friday. The new COVID-19 cases are in the following counties: Benton (2), Clackamas (5), Clatsop (1), Crook (1), Deschutes (4 for a total of 36), Klamath (5), Malheur (1), Marion (14), Morrow (1), Multnomah (15), Polk (2), Washington (17), Yamhill (5).

The Oregon Health Authority reports new cases once a day on its website: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus.

Oregon’s 22nd COVID-19 death was a 71-year-old man in Polk County who tested positive on March 19 and died April 2 at Salem Hospital. He had underlying medical conditions.

As of Friday, Oregon has had reported 899 positive tests and 16,535 negative tests.

Deschutes County has had 412 negative tests along with the 36 positive results. Crook County has had one confirmed case and 22 negative test results. Jefferson has had 28 negative test results and no cases, OHA said.

Deschutes County said 13 of its cases have recovered; the state does not provide similar data.

Of the cases, 11 were 70 or older, eight 60-69, eight 40-59 and nine 39 or younger. Of the 36 cases, 19 had a domestic or international travel history and 17 had no such travel history. Fourteen have been hospitalized and 22 have not.

OHA: Non-medical masks can supplement but not replace Stay Home, Save Lives.

With recent news that federal authorities may recommend wearing masks in public, Oregon Health Authority is reminding Oregonians that staying home and avoiding all non-essential contact with others continues to be the most important thing all of us can do to stay healthy and keep others healthy. And during moments where people must go out of the house, they should stay at least 6 feet apart from others at all times.

Before deciding whether to wear a mask, Oregon Health Authority recommends people keep two considerations central:

• Medical masks should be reserved for health care providers who are on the front lines working with patients most likely to have COVID-19. We have had shortages of those masks – and it's critically important that our health care workers have the equipment they need to do their jobs.
• Non-medical mask use (e.g., homemade fabric masks) does not replace the need to follow guidance to stay home and limit our contact with others. It does not replace frequent handwashing, avoiding touching the face, and staying away from people who are ill. These are the most important steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 illness.

“We continue to stress that medical masks are essential for health care workers who are in close contact with someone who has COVID-19," said Paul Cieslak, MD, medical director for communicable diseases, OHA Public Health Division. "We need to preserve supplies of medical masks for our health care workers so they can stay safe as they work to keep all of us healthy. For the general public, homemade fabric masks, especially if well-made and well-fitting, may provide some benefit."

Wearing a fabric mask can help prevent the spread of infection to others when the mask is worn by someone who already is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, particularly if the person is coughing. The mask may block some infectious droplets from spreading when someone with the infection coughs, sneezes and, to a lesser degree, speaks.

"The data do not tell us how much protection homemade cloth masks provide to the person wearing a homemade mask. For this reason, homemade and fabric masks should not be considered reliable protection; but they may provide some benefit," said Cieslak. “Above all, we continue to stress that the reliable tool we have right now to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is strict social distancing – as outlined in Governor Brown’s ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ orders.”

Everyone, even people who are young and healthy, must stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19. Read more here about Governor Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” orders. Read more here about OHA’s social distancing guidelines.

Changes in hospital reporting

COVID-19 hospital capacity data on today’s Daily Update, formerly labeled the Situation Status Report, or Sit Stat, is listed as “pending” due to data quality issues. OHA is working with its partner hospitals to improve the COVID-19 data reporting process so we can ensure the accuracy, consistency and timeliness of the underlying data. The state has paused our public reporting so OHA can provide additional technical assistance to hospital staff. OHA will resume public reporting of COVID-19 hospital capacity data as soon as we have achieved full compliance and consistency in data reporting across all sources.

Stay informed about COVID-19:

Oregon response: The Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Office of Emergency Management lead the state response.

United States response: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leads the U.S. response.

Global response: The World Health Organization guides the global response.