The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday announced 239 new coronavirus cases and three deaths.
Wednesday’s figures came as the state’s top health official said Oregon would meet President Joe Biden’s May 1 deadline to open vaccine eligibility to all adults.
Patrick Allen, the state’s health authority director, made that commitment Wednesday on OPB’s Think Out Loud. The state had previously been noncommittal about meeting the Biden administration’s timeline, which is two months earlier than Oregon planned.
Oregon also released new rules Wednesday for outdoor recreation and the fitness industry as well as outdoor entertainment, which would govern limits for professional teams like the Portland Timbers and Thorns.
The new guidelines allow for a maximum of 50 people for counties listed as extreme risk to COVID spread, 15% of occupancy for high-risk counties, 25% for moderate-risk counties and 50% occupancy for low-risk counties.
Multnomah County is currently in moderate risk. The Timbers and Thorns’ home stadium, Providence Park, seats roughly 25,000 fans. The teams announced the Thorns will host its first home match April 9 with fans. The Timbers will host fans April 13.
Where the new cases are by county: Baker (1), Benton (5), Clackamas (15), Clatsop (7), Columbia (2), Coos (10), Crook (1), Curry (1), Deschutes (7), Douglas (8), Grant (6), Jackson (25), Jefferson (2), Josephine (16), Klamath (2), Lane (16), Lincoln (3), Linn (6), Malheur (3), Marion (26), Morrow (1), Multnomah (24), Polk (1), Tillamook (3), Umatilla (13), Union (1), Washington (28), Wheeler (2) and Yamhill (4).
Who died: Oregon’s 2,347th COVID-19 death is an 86-year-old Lane County man who tested positive March 5 and died March 14. State officials are confirming where he died.
Oregon’s 2,348th death is an 89-year-old Washington County man who tested positive Feb. 28 and died March 13 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,349th death is a 90-year-old Josephine County woman who tested positive March 8 and died March 16 at her residence.
Each person who died had underlying medical conditions or state officials were working to determine if the person had underlying health conditions.
The prevalence of infections: On Wednesday, the state reported 341 new positive tests out of 14,140 tests performed, equaling a 2.4% positivity rate.
Who got infected: New confirmed or presumed infections grew among the following age groups: 0-9 (15); 10-19 (24); 20-29 (35); 30-39 (32); 40-49 (34); 50-59 (37); 60-69 (16); 70-79 (10); 80 and older (3).
Who’s in the hospital: The state reported that 108 people were hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19, which is 11 fewer than Tuesday’s figure. There were 29 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, four more than were in similar care Monday.
Vaccines administered: Oregon has administered 1,363,311 first and second doses as of Wednesday. The state reported 15,289 new doses. Of those vaccines, 7,849 doses were administered Tuesday and 7,440 were administered on previous days but entered into the system Tuesday.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 160,259 confirmed or presumed infections and 2,349 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 4,003,447 lab reports from tests.
— Andrew Theen; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen[email protected]
