Oregon reports 21 more COVID-19 deaths, 2 in C. Oregon; case count tops 200,000

(Update: OHA releases details of deaths, 2 in Central Oregon)

Highest daily death tally in nearly two months; cases reach 'grim milestone,' masks, vaccinations urged

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- There are 21 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, including two in Central Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 2,660, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday. It's the highest number of daily reported deaths since 33 were reported on April 6, and comes on the day Oregon tops 200,000 cases.

Deschutes County's 79th death was a 93-year-old woman who tested positive April 26 and died at her home on May 3. She had underlying conditions.

Jefferson County's 38th death was a 37-year-old man who tested positive on May 21 and died three days later at St. Charles Bend. OHA says the presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon surpasses 200,000 COVID-19 cases

The confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Oregon have hit the 200,000 mark. On Thursday, OHA reported 433 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 200,210.

“As we head into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, this milestone is a grim reminder that while case counts are decreasing statewide in large part due to vaccination, there remains a risk of COVID-19 in Oregon, especially for those who are not yet vaccinated,” said OHA Director Patrick Allen. “I urge caution for Oregonians who are not yet vaccinated. You are still at risk of infection and should wear a mask indoors and practice physical distance precautions.”

"As we try to stamp out the virus, our most effective tool to end the pandemic is vaccinations," OHA said in its daily update. "While the people who are fully vaccinated are well protected, the pandemic is far from over."

All individuals in Oregon age 12 and older are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For more COVID-19 vaccine information by county, click here.

Vaccinations in Oregon

OHA reported Thursday that 29,611 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry. Of this total, 16,348 doses were administered on Wednesday and 13,263 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Wednesday.

The 7-day running average is now 29,106 doses per day.

Oregon has now administered a total of 2,154,797 first and second doses of Pfizer, 1,572,083 first and second doses of Moderna and 138,588 single doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of Thursday, 1,790,838 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. There are 2,206,455 people who have had at least one dose.

Cumulative daily totals can take several days to finalize because providers have 72 hours to report doses administered and technical challenges have caused many providers to lag in their reporting. OHA has been providing technical support to vaccination sites to improve the timeliness of their data entry into the state’s ALERT Immunization Information System (IIS).

To date, 2,619,045 doses of Pfizer, 2,102,240 doses of Moderna and 291,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to sites across Oregon.

These data are preliminary and subject to change.

OHA's dashboards provide regularly updated vaccination data, and Oregon’s dashboard has been updated Thursday.

COVID-19 hospitalizations

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 256, which is 17 fewer than Wednesday. There are 68 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is nine fewer than Wednesday.

The total number of COVID-19 positive patient bed-days in the most recent seven days is 1,860, which is a 18.7% decrease from the previous seven days. The peak daily number of beds occupied by COVID-19 positive patients in the most recent seven days is 285.

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.

St. Charles Bend reported 41 COVID-19 patients as of early Thursday, five in the ICU and three on ventilators.

Benton County makes ‘every shot count’ with teen clinic

A teen-focused vaccination event in Benton County last week led to hundreds of teens getting vaccinated. Almost 500 people age 12 to 15 received a shot with hundreds of older teens rolling up their sleeves as well.

“Teen Day” took place at Reser Stadium, the county’s mass vaccination site, and at a pop-up clinic at a nearby high school.

Attendees could enter a raffle for a Chromebook, Airpods and gift cards. Kids were invited to write on a graffiti board, answering questions such as, “What are you most looking forward to when you’re fully vaccinated?” Answers included: “Returning to in-person classes,” not “wondering if a business is open” and “traveling.”

The County also worked with several organizations that serve youth such as Jackson Street Youth Services, which houses teens experiencing houselessness, and Strengthening Rural Families.

Benton County currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in Oregon. “We wanted to make sure we reached the teenagers who wouldn’t be reached by school district communications,” said Uili Neville, Joint Information Center manager for Benton County. “Every shot counts at this point.”

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday are in the following counties: Baker (2), Benton (3), Clackamas (50), Clatsop (1), Columbia (8), Coos (4), Crook (4), Deschutes (41), Douglas (24), Harney (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (22), Jefferson (3), Josephine (12), Klamath (13), Lane (17), Linn (23), Malheur (4), Marion (54), Morrow (5), Multnomah (64), Polk (4), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (17), Union (1), Wasco (1), Washington (38) and Yamhill (14).

Oregon’s 2,640th death is a 98-year-old man from Benton County who tested positive on April 22 and died on May 11 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,641st death is an 87-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive on April 20 and died on April 27 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,642nd death is an 80-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive on April 13 and died on April 20 at Portland Adventist Hospital. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,643rd death is a 78-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive on March 17 and died on March 23 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,644th death is a 94-year-old woman from Douglas County who tested positive on Feb. 18 and died on March 23 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,645th death is a 93-year-old woman from Deschutes County who tested positive on April 26 and died on May 3 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,646th death is a 37-year-old man from Jefferson County who tested positive on May 21 and died on May 24 at St. Charles Bend. Presence of underlying conditions is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 2,647th death is a 55-year-old man from Klamath County who tested positive on April 15 and died on May 1 at Oregon Health and Sciences University Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,648th death is a 78-year-old woman from Klamath County who tested positive on April 12 and died on April 19 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,649th death is an 85-year-old woman from Linn County who tested positive on April 20 and died on May 4 at Good Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,650th death is a 98-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive on April 15 and died on May 12 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,651st death is a 50-year-old man from Linn County who tested positive on May 5 and died on May 7 at Providence Portland Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,652nd death is an 81-year-old woman from Marion County who tested positive on Jan. 13 and died on May 5 at her residence. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,653rd death is a 69-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive on May 7 and died on May 12 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,654th death is a 64-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on April 26 and died on May 5 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,655th death is a 93-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on April 27 and died on May 6 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,656th death is a 54-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive on April 22 and died on May 13 at Providence Portland Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,657th death is a 64-year-old woman from Multnomah County who tested positive on April 12 and died on May 4 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,658th death is a 70-year-old man from Multnomah County who died on April 23 at Providence Portland Medical Center. The death certificate listed COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. He had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,659th death is a 78-year-old woman from Yamhill County who tested positive on April 23 and died on May 6 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,660th death is a 78-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive on April 23 and died on May 5 at OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Note: Additional information is known about Oregon’s 2,627th death of an 87-year-old man from Linn County. He was originally reported as a Lane County resident.

Note: Additional information is known about Oregon’s 2,628th death of a 24-year-old man from Lane County. He was originally reported as a Linn County resident.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations? 

To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit OHA's webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.