PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) released its weekly report detailing COVID-19 numbers across the state on Wednesday. The latest report shows that 160 COVID-19 cases have been reported at 83 schools across the state over the past 28 days.
The numbers are higher than last week's report, which showed 114 cases across 67 schools.
Students make up 72 of the cases (45%) reported at schools in the latest weekly report. The other 88 cases come from a staff or volunteer working at the school. Last week, students made up 54 of the reported cases (47.3%), compared to 60 staff or volunteer members.
OHA places schools in the "recent COVID-19 cases" category if the onset of a school's most recent case falls within the past 28 days.
Wallowa High School in Northeast Oregon reported nine cases, including eight students, still the highest number of cases at any school in the state. Wallowa High School's most recent onset was Nov. 5.
OHA also keeps track of schools that have recently resolved their COVID-19 cases. A school is moved to this category if 28 days have passed since the onset of the last positive case. Schools that have had no new cases for at least 56 days are removed from the report entirely. You can see that list of schools in the document above, Table 12.
The uptick in cases in schools comes as the state continues to see its highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started.
The state is in the middle of a two-week freeze aimed at reducing the spread of the virus by putting further restrictions on gatherings and certain business, including restaurants, which are limited to takeout, and gyms, which are closed.
Once the two-week freeze is over, a new set of restrictions will go in effect across the state, based on the risk level of the county you live in.
