Oregon reports 331 new COVID-19 cases, 18 in Deschutes County; 2 deaths

(Update: Deschutes County health official says many cases involve people not taking precautions)

St. Charles reports record 16 COVID-19 patients, five in ICU; state modeling shows potential spike in cases, need to 'stay the course'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 273, along with 331 new cases, 18 of them in Deschutes County, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday.

OHA reported 331 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday, bringing the state total to 15,713 cases, along with 342,778 negative test results.

The new cases are in the following counties: Clackamas (18), Columbia (3), Coos (3), Crook (1), Deschutes (18), Douglas (13), Hood River (1), Jackson (8), Jefferson (3), Josephine (3), Klamath (13), Lake (1), Lane (12), Lincoln (5), Linn (3), Malheur (10), Marion (39), Morrow (4), Multnomah (77), Polk (13), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (39), Wasco (6), Washington (33), and Yamhill (4).

Crook County has had 29 cases, one death and 1,398 negative test results. Deschutes County has had 405 cases, one death and 14,807 negative test results. Jefferson County has had 222 cases, no deaths and 2,690 negative test results.

St. Charles Health System reported a record 16 COVID-19 patients as of 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Five were in the ICU and three of those were on ventilator. The previous peak number was 14 patients, reported earlier this week and early in the pandemic.

As of Thursday morning, 26 of St. Charles' 30 ICU beds between Bend and Redmond were in use, or 87 percent capacity, spokeswoman Lisa Goodman said.

A state dashboard indicates Deschutes County has had 21 cases per capita and 265 recoveries among the 405 cases. Crook County has had just over 12 cases per capita and Jefferson County 93 cases per capita.

Morgan Emerson of Deschutes County Health Service said, "We're seeing lots of cases that are tied to individuals transmitting the virus after not taking precautions around coworkers, close friends and family that they don't live with.

"It's an important reminder that even if you trust someone, you should still be taking the precautions of wearing a mask, physical distancing and, of course, staying home if you're sick," she added.

Oregon’s 272nd COVID-19 death is a 74-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on June 29 and died on July 16, at Good Shepherd Health Care System. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 273rd COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on July 8 and died on July 21, at Salem Hospital. She had underlying conditions. 

OHA updates new modeling showing need to stay the course

OHA updated its bi-weekly modeling report Thursday, showing various trajectories for COVID-19.

The modeling presents three scenarios:

• If the current transmission rate continues, new daily infections would rise steadily over the next four weeks to around 1,600 infections a day by Aug. 13, with 27 hospitalizations.
• If transmission decreased by 10 percentage points from current rates, the estimated number of new infections would decrease over time to 600 infections a day by Aug. 13 with 17 hospitalizations.
• Finally, a pessimistic scenario, in which transmission increases by 10 percentage points from the current rates, shows 2,300 new daily infections by Aug. 13 with 46 hospitalizations.

The projections show the need for Oregonians to continue to wear face coverings, stay six feet apart and limit the size of social gatherings to bend the curve again. These actions, along with the recent measures put in place by Gov. Kate Brown, will make a difference in the course of COVID-19 in our state.