Oregon reports 14 more COVID-19 deaths, including Crook Co. woman; 555 cases
(Update: Oregon death toll equals highest recorded; OHA speaks to delays in some reports; more info from Deschutes County health official)
Deschutes County reports single-day record of 31 cases, has had 106 in 4 days
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- COVID-19 has claimed 14 more lives in Oregon, including a Crook County woman, raising the state’s death toll to 689, along with 555 new cases, 31 in Deschutes County, the Oregon Health Authority reported Saturday.
The 14 deaths equal the highest recorded daily death toll in Oregon since the pandemic began, first reached on July 28.
OHA reported 555 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, bringing the state total to 44,921 cases, along with 817,028 negative test results.
A 66-year-old Crook County woman died Friday at St. Charles Bend, eight days after testing positive for the virus, the OHA reported.
The 14 Oregon deaths are the most recorded in a single day since July, while the 555 cases are the state's third-highest daily tally of cases, after records set on Thursday and Friday. The state has reported 3,250 new COVID-19 cases in the past week and 36 deaths, according to the OHA.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Saturday are in the following counties: Baker (1), Clackamas (46), Clatsop (3), Coos (4), Curry (2), Deschutes (31), Douglas (3), Gilliam (5), Harney (2), Hood River (2), Jackson (12), Jefferson (2), Josephine (4), Klamath (3), Lane (65), Linn (19), Malheur (10), Marion (54), Morrow (3), Multnomah (138), Polk (14), Tillamook (2), Umatilla (15), Union (6), Wallowa (4), Wasco (6), Washington (86), Yamhill (13).
Deschutes County's 31 cases reported Saturday were its largest single-day total, topping a 28-case count in July. The county has reported 106 cases over the past four days.
"We've seen over 130 cases in the past seven days, and we are monitoring over 200 close contacts of those cases," Morgan Emerson, an information officer with Deschutes County Health Services, told NewsChannel 21 Saturday.
"The county's increase in cases is coming from a variety of sources across the community, not from one large outbreak," she added in an email.
Emerson said the county is seeing many cases from:
- Close contacts, like friends having informal get-togethers or parties
- Household contacts, transmission within household units
- Workplace exposures, we have seen some cases where employees follow precautions while working but socialize with coworkers outside of work and spread the virus
- Travel history, when you travel you generally have contact with more people
- Community spread, where our case investigators are unable to determine the source of infection.
"Our case investigation and contact tracing team is also hearing that people have 'COVID fatigue' and are becoming less careful with their behaviors," Emerson said.
"With cases rising higher than we've seen, now is the time to keep your guard up and continue being vigilant with precautions. Wear your mask, even around people you trust. Keep your social 'bubble' small. If you're spending time with people you don't live with, do so outside and with a mask on."
Asked why in some cases there was a weeks-long delay in the health authority reporting deaths, spokeswoman Delia Hernandez told The Associated Press that the OHA is working to improve the data collection process.
“Information is processed by several individuals, and somewhere along the chain, delays or errors happen,” Hernandez said.
Oregon’s 676th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Sept. 36 and died on Oct. 14 at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 677th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Sep. 21 and died on Oct. 1 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 678th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Sept. 25 and died on Oct. 4 at Samaritan Albany General Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 679th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Sept. 8 and died on Oct. 10 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 680th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old man in Linn County who tested positive on Sept. 19 and died on Oct. 21 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 681st COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct. 20 and died on Oct. 24 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 682nd COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old woman in Curry County who tested positive on Oct. 5 and died on Oct. 25 at Curry General Hospital. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 683rd COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Oct. 8 and died on Oct. 29 at Peace Health Sacred Heart Riverbend Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 684th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman in Columbia County who tested positive on Sept. 23 and died on Oct. 6 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 685th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Sept. 25 and died on Oct. 19 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 686th COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Oct. 1 and died on Oct. 6 at Salem Hospital. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 687th COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Sept. 4 and died on Sept. 26 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 688th COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old woman in Crook County who tested positive on Oct. 22 and died on Oct. 30 at St. Charles Bend. She had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 689th COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct. 28 and died on Oct. 29. His location of death and presence of underlying conditions are still being determined.
See table below for total cases, deaths and negative tests by county.
| County | Cases 1 | Total deaths 2 | Negative tests 3 |
| Baker | 144 | 3 | 2327 |
| Benton | 464 | 6 | 19010 |
| Clackamas | 3350 | 66 | 77546 |
| Clatsop | 254 | 0 | 6905 |
| Columbia | 274 | 2 | 8841 |
| Coos | 266 | 1 | 9085 |
| Crook | 116 | 3 | 3227 |
| Curry | 60 | 2 | 2412 |
| Deschutes | 1240 | 13 | 39453 |
| Douglas | 376 | 8 | 15731 |
| Gilliam | 17 | 0 | 369 |
| Grant | 12 | 0 | 1061 |
| Harney | 39 | 0 | 971 |
| Hood River | 288 | 1 | 5962 |
| Jackson | 1876 | 7 | 42507 |
| Jefferson | 611 | 10 | 5808 |
| Josephine | 277 | 3 | 14831 |
| Klamath | 433 | 3 | 11990 |
| Lake | 47 | 0 | 1100 |
| Lane | 2564 | 28 | 83200 |
| Lincoln | 519 | 13 | 9998 |
| Linn | 881 | 17 | 21491 |
| Malheur | 1977 | 38 | 6437 |
| Marion | 6121 | 112 | 62209 |
| Morrow | 557 | 7 | 2117 |
| Multnomah | 9780 | 173 | 180123 |
| Polk | 690 | 15 | 12371 |
| Sherman | 21 | 0 | 392 |
| Tillamook | 77 | 0 | 3696 |
| Umatilla | 3476 | 45 | 15736 |
| Union | 493 | 2 | 5252 |
| Wallowa | 55 | 2 | 1236 |
| Wasco | 358 | 16 | 6038 |
| Washington | 6170 | 78 | 115583 |
| Wheeler | 1 | 0 | 187 |
| Yamhill | 1037 | 15 | 21826 |
| Total | 44,921 | 689 | 817,028 |
1 This includes cases confirmed by diagnostic testing and presumptive cases. Presumptive cases are those without a positive diagnostic test who present COVID-19-like symptoms and had close contact with a confirmed case. County of residence for cases may change as new information becomes available. If changes occur, we will update our counts accordingly.
2 For additional details on individuals who have died from COVID-19 in Oregon, please refer to our press releases.
3 This includes cases who test negative and are not epi-linked to a confirmed case.
Stay informed about COVID-19:
Oregon response: The Oregon Health Authority leads 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.
