PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon is reporting some of the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started more than two years ago.
The Oregon Health Authority reported nearly 12,000 new cases last week and the state is averaging 1,685 new cases a day, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday. That’s higher than all but 12 weeks since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
State health officials confirmed two weeks ago that the state is in the midst of another wave of COVID infection, this time caused primarily by the BA.2 version of the omicron variant.
Oregon's daily cases peaked at 10,941 on Jan. 20 during the first omicron wave, then fell rapidly to a low point of fewer than 300 cases per day by late March, prompting officials to lift the state's indoor mask mandate.
The trend almost immediately reversed as BA.2 began to spread in the state. Daily cases have been climbing steadily since early April, although at a comparatively slower pace than during the first omicron wave.
Hospitalizations continue to lag behind the rising case numbers and remain far below previous pandemic highs. As of Monday, 278 people were hospitalized — up 11% from a week before — and 24 were in intensive care unit beds.
The tally of hospitalized patients is expected to peak at 329 occupied hospital beds on June 9, according to forecasts by Oregon Health & Science University. Many of those patients are considered to be people hospitalized for other conditions who also tested positive for COVID-19.
For comparison, the delta wave peaked at 1,178 hospitalizations in Oregon and the first omicron wave peaked at 1,130. Coming down from that wave in March, state officials set a target of 400 hospitalizations as the point where it would be safe to lift the state's mask mandate.
People in the 15 Oregon counties deemed to be “medium” risk of COVID-19 by federal metrics should consider donning masks indoors while out in public.
Those counties are the following: Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Columbia, Benton, Deschutes, Hood River, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, Lincoln, Lane, Wallowa, Union and Baker.
In Washington, state health officials are recommending the use of masks indoors in tight or crowded quarters due to an uptick in cases.
“We are seeing a lot of COVID-19 and we've seen COVID rates go up over the last couple of months,” said Dr. Steven Krager, deputy health officer for Clark County.
In Clark County alone, there were 1,157 new confirmed and probable cases from May 19 to May 26, which translates to 217 new cases per 100,000 residents. The week before, there were about 165 cases per 100,000 residents, and there were only about 35 per 100,000 just over a month ago.
Both Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck tested positive for COVID this week, but both reported mild symptoms.
Dr. Krager said the rise in COVID cases is even more stark when you consider that lots of people are testing at home and not reporting results. He agrees that masking in crowded indoor situations is wise right now, along with being vaccinated and boosted and having a treatment plan if you do get sick.
Hospital admission rates in Clark County are up too but not as dramatically. Still, 15% of hospital beds are now occupied by COVID patients or those believed to have the disease but have not yet tested positive, and 31% of ICU beds fall into that category.
“We're still seeing people being hospitalized. We're still seeing people dying from COVID-19. And so we'd love to turn the corner on this current surge," Krager said.
The good news, Krager said, is that modeling indicates a peak may be close. However, he said the modeling shows that "the downturn will be slow, so we'll still be at higher rates for a while."
Back in Oregon, Multnomah County health officials urged the public earlier this month to resume wearing masks indoors to combat the BA.2 wave, although it's a recommendation rather than a requirement.
