130 COVID-19 Deaths is 4 Percent of Oregon's 3,268 Total Cases

Today, Oregon reported 61 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, 11 new presumptive cases, and 0 new deaths

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(PORTLAND, Ore.) - The state of Oregon’s death toll from COVID-19 is unchanged from yesterday and remains at 130, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 8 a.m. today.

Oregon Health Authority reported 61 new confirmed cases and 11 new presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 8 a.m. today bringing the state total to 3,358.

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (1), Clackamas (6), Clatsop (1), Deschutes (4), Jackson (1), Josephine (1), Klamath (1), Linn (1), Marion (29), Multnomah (9), Polk (2), Wasco (1), Washington (14), Yamhill (1).

OHA has released its COVID-19 Weekly Report, which presents an in-depth look at the virus in Oregon.

This week’s report contains a summary of the week’s data by an OHA Senior Health Advisor. Also new this week is a table that displays cases by gender and ethnicity.

Testing and Tracing

In addition to increased testing, local public health officials have begun to increase contact tracing, a process by which people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection are asked to identify their close contacts during the time when they were most likely to be infectious. Those contacts are then interviewed and monitored for illness.

Any of those contacts who have symptoms of COVID-19 are "presumed" to have COVID19 infection themselves. These contacts are deemed “presumptive cases” and are counted in statewide totals. During the week of May 4 through May 11, about 15% of reported cases were presumptive cases.

Similarly, while an increase in reported COVID-19-related deaths during the past week reemphasizes the sad consequences of the pandemic, the number of deaths doesn’t reflect current rates of COVID-19 transmission in Oregon, but rather high rates of infection three weeks earlier since deaths from COVID-19 commonly occur three or more weeks after onset.

Recovery from COVID

If they are not yet recovered, public health staff will call back weekly until the person is recovered. COVID-19 cases without symptoms are considered recovered 10 days after the last positive test. Of the 3,138 surviving COVID-19 cases, 1,406 (44.8%) are considered recovered and 829 (26.4%) are not yet recovered.

OHA is still assessing recovery status for 903 (28.8%) of the COVID-19 cases.

• The median time to recovery for all cases who had symptoms is 19 days (interquartile range:13–27 days).
• The median time to recovery for cases who were hospitalized and had symptoms is 23 days (interquartile range: 16–32 days).

This week’s report no longer contains a table of underlying conditions of those who have died from COVID-19. Routinely available information about COVID-19 cases lacks sufficient detail to offer useful information about the specific conditions that make up the broad categories included in the table.

A more accurate and reliable source of information about underlying medical conditions among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 has become available through COVID-NET, a national surveillance network that collects detailed medical information about hospitalized patients in many states. Oregon is a participant in COVID-NET.

Stay informed about COVID-19:

• Oregon response: The Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Office of Emergency Management lead the state response.
• United States response: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leads the U.S. response.
• Global response: The World Health Organization guides the global response.

Source(s): Oregon Health Authority