The Oregon Health Authority reported 340 new cases of coronavirus statewide Monday, including 119 records of confirmed or suspected infections in Multnomah County.
“This disease is widespread in Multnomah County,” Dr. Jennifer Vines, the county health officer, said during a press conference before state officials revealed the latest numbers.
Oregon’s most populous county hopes to see an increase in cases in the future, as each person with COVID-19 can infect, on average, about 1.5 more, county officials said.
“My expectation is that cases will continue to increase simply based on what we know now,” Vines said, adding that he hopes the rate of increase in infections will eventually slow down if residents heed the physical distancing recommendations.
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases across the state appear to have stagnated in the past week. The daily average over the span is 320, slightly below a high of 344 on July 20.
The Oregon Health Authority also released new data Monday that shows that slightly fewer people with coronavirus tests are infected.
Just under one in five people tested had coronaviruses, according to the latest weekly report from July 19 to 25. It is the first time since the end of June that the positivity rate fell below 5%.
Where new cases are by county: Benton (2), Clackamas (7), Columbia (1), Coos (1), Crook (1), Deschutes (11), Douglas (1), Harney (1), Hood River (1), Jackson (11) , Jefferson (9), Lane (8), Lincoln (1), Malheur (8), Marion (26), Morrow (4), Multnomah (119), Polk (9), Umatilla (47), Wasco (1) , Washington (61) and Yamhill (9).
New fatalities: The Oregon Health Authority did not report any deaths Monday, marking the first time it has occurred since July 11.
The prevalence of infections: State authorities had not updated the test results since Friday. Since then, the state reported that 15,982 people were tested, with 967 infections identified. That is a positivity rate of 6.1%.
Who got infected: State officials have not updated confirmed or suspected infections, by age, since Friday. Since then, the state reported new cases among the following: 0-9 (66); 10-19 (143); 20-29 (222); 30-39 (162); 40-49 (169); 50-59 (110); 60-69 (61) 70-79 (29); 80 and older (22).
Who’s in the hospital? The state reported Monday that 151 Oregon residents are currently in the hospital, well below the 168 reported on Friday. Oregon remains well below capacity, with hundreds of hospital beds and ventilators available.
Since she began: Oregon has now reported 17,088 confirmed or suspected infections and 289 deaths, among the lowest totals in the nation. To date, 381,718 Oregonians have been tested.
– Brad Schmidt; [email protected]; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt
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