Oregon reports 48 new COVID-19 cases, three in Jefferson County

No new deaths reported; Warm Springs up to 22 cases outbreak of 6 cases at Hood River fruit business

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The state’s death toll from COVID-19 is unchanged from Thursday and remains at 151, with 48 new cases reported, the Oregon Health Authority reported Friday.

Oregon Health Authority reported 48 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, bringing the state total to 4,131 cases, along with 118,510 negative test results.

It was the 12th day in May that OHA added no new deaths to the statewide toll

The new confirmed and presumptive cases reported Saturday are in the following counties: Clackamas (1), Curry (1), Douglas (1), Hood River (1), Jefferson (3, for a total of 28), Klamath (1), Lane (1), Lincoln (2), Marion (11), Multnomah (18), Wasco (1), Washington (7).

Jefferson County now reports 28 cases and 834 negative test results Crook County still has six cases and 539 test results. Deschutes County remains at 121 cases and 5,059 negative test results.

Since COVID-19 cases on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation are counted with Jefferson County, the increase is likely due to Warm Springs now having 22 confirmed cases, up from 18 earlier in the week.

"We continue to do random surveillance testing of our high-risk community members," Hyllis Dauphinais, Sr., CEO Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center, said in Thursday's update.

"We will begin a broader surveillance of the CTWS (Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs) employees as staff begin to return to work in the coming weeks," Dauphinais added.

OHA added these notes due to data reconciliation:

• Two cases previously reported in Josephine County were determined not to be cases; the county case count has been appropriately adjusted.
• One case previously reported in Malheur County was determined not to be a case; the county case count has been appropriately adjusted.
• One case originally reported in the 70-79 age group was determined not to be a case.
• One case in the 60-69 age group originally reported to be hospitalized was determined not to have been hospitalized.

Oregon’s 151st COVID-19 death, which was reported Thursday without details, is a 72-year-old man in Polk County who tested positive on May 1 and died May 25 at his residence. He had underlying medical conditions.

An outbreak of six COVID-19 cases has been connected to Duckwall Fruit in Hood River County, OHA reported. The investigation started Friday. State and county public health officials are working with the business to address the outbreak and protect the health of workers.

The risk to the general public is considered low. If you have questions or concerns about your risk of exposure, please contact your health care provider. Additional information for this outbreak will be added to the COVID-19 Weekly Report published next Wednesday.

Weekly report indicates steady testing, fewer positive cases

Today OHA released its Weekly Testing Summary, which showed that in the week ending May 29, 17,447 tests were performed in Oregon, with 304 positive results, for a positive rate of 1.7 percent.

The state’s weekly testing capacity remains at 37,702. Meanwhile, Oregon’s cumulative positive testing rate is 3.3 percent of tests performed, which is considerably lower than the national average of 12 percent.

Oregon’s decreasing weekly test positivity rate reflects fewer numbers of individuals with COVID-19 due to physical distancing and other preventive measures, as well as increasing testing statewide.

To see more case and county level data, please visit the Oregon Health Authority website, which OHA updates once a day: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus.

OHA modeling report shows steady testing, reduced transmission

Today, OHA released an update to its modeling report  produced jointly with the Institute for Disease Modeling. The new model simulations suggest that there have been approximately 20,000 cumulative infections in Oregon by May 22, of which about 4,000 have been diagnosed based on the local epidemiologic data.

The model continues to show that the “aggressive interventions in Oregon have been effective in dramatically reducing transmission rates.”

But the report also cautions that while hospitalization data suggest that infections have continued to decline in recent weeks, this trend may change as Oregon counties begin phased reopening. The report further notes that moderate increases in transmission levels in the community could cause a much larger increase in infections.

For example, under the scenario with interventions reducing transmission by 50 percent (versus 70 percent), the model projects about 3,000 more cumulative infections, 155 additional infections per day, and four more new severe cases per day by July 3. The modeling will be updated again in two weeks.

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.