New daily cases of coronavirus in Oregon topped 300 on Friday for the second consecutive day, fueled by infections in Multnomah, Umatilla, Washington and Marion counties.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 344 new confirmed and suspected cases, bringing the state total to 9,636.
It was the second highest daily count since the state outbreak began in February. The state set a record Thursday with 375 cases a day, dwarfing 281 the day before. The health authority did not report new deaths, and the remaining number was 209.
Twenty-eight of the 36 Oregon counties reported new cases: Benton (7), Clackamas (22), Clatsop (1), Columbia (3), Coos (1), Crook (1), Deschutes (9), Douglas (1) , Jackson (9), Jefferson (5), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lake (1), Lane (16), Lincoln (18), Linn (2), Malheur (20), Marion (32) , Morrow (10), Multnomah (59), Polk (5), Sherman (1), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (49), Union (8), Wasco (10), Washington (46) and Yamhill (1) .
Gov. Kate Brown on Friday identified eight rural counties as hotspots and placed them on a “watch list”: Jefferson, Lake, Lincoln, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wasco. That means state and local health officials will monitor them and send additional unspecified resources to try to stop the spread of the disease, the health authority said in a statement.
Those counties have recorded the highest rates of “sporadic” transmission in the state from mid-June to early July, the health authority said. That means the cases do not have a clear link to other cases or outbreaks “and therefore indicate that the virus is spreading uncontrollably in a community,” the agency said in a statement.
Despite the increase in the number of cases and concerns that health officials may not know how the virus is spreading in some of the counties, Oregon still has fewer per capita coronavirus cases and deaths than most of the states, according to a New York Times database.
Vermont, Alaska, West Virginia and Montana have reported fewer cases per 100,000 people than Oregon, and Wyoming, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii have reported fewer deaths, according to The Times.
– Margaret Haberman
