PORTLAND, Ore. — More Oregonians tested positive for COVID-19 last week than any other week during the pandemic so far, state health officials announced Wednesday.
In its weekly report, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said 2,642 people tested positive for the coronavirus during the week of Oct. 19-25, an average of 377 new cases per day. The previous high was 2,418 new cases during the week of Oct. 5 to Oct. 11.
The record-high weekly case count is another indicator that the spread of the virus is not slowing in Oregon, despite officials first identifying the virus in the state on Feb. 28, eight months ago. The daily record of 550 new cases was also set last week, on Oct. 23. As of Wednesday, there were 43,228 known COVID-19 cases in Oregon during the pandemic.
While the number of known new cases rose last week, the positive test rate stayed the same at 6.5%. The number of Oregonians newly tested for COVID-19 increased by 8.6% last week to 31,448 people.
Twenty-seven Oregonians were reported to have died from the coronavirus last week, up from the 25 deaths reported the week before. People over 70 years old have accounted for 75% of the deaths associated with COVID-19 in Oregon. There have been 671 deaths linked to the virus in Oregon during the pandemic.
There are currently 156 Oregonians confirmed with COVID-19 who are hospitalized, according to OHA.
With COVID-19 continuing to spread across the state, OHA reminds people to take the following safety precautions:
- Wear a face covering.
- Keep physically distant.
- Avoid large gatherings and restrict gatherings with people outside of your household.
- Maintain good hand hygiene.
