Oregon posted an 11% weekly drop in identified coronavirus cases Monday, marking the second week of declining case counts.
The Oregon Health Authority recorded 9,800 confirmed or presumed infections in the past week, or 1,400 a day, down from 1,579 daily cases last week.
The significance of the drop is difficult to precisely measure but may indicate fewer infections spreading across Oregon.
Unlike earlier in the pandemic, publicly reported cases now represent an even smaller fraction of true infections, with many Oregonians opting for at-home testing that doesn’t show up in the state’s official numbers. Test positivity rates among publicly reported tests remain high, at 12.3% for the past three days, although down from the previous weekend.
Meanwhile, Oregon on Monday reported 320 patients are hospitalized with a positive coronavirus test result. That’s already above projections by Oregon Health & Science University, which forecast a peak of 313 on June 14.
About half the people hospitalized test positive upon admission and aren’t seeking care for coronavirus, according to OHSU’s estimates. Hospitalizations remain far below the earlier peaks from delta and omicron surges, which neared 1,200, and deaths also remain comparatively low.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 774,426 confirmed or presumed infections and 7,659 deaths.
Hospitalizations: 320 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, up 34 from Monday, May 30.
Vaccinations: As of May 31, the state has reported fully vaccinating 2,916,487 people (68.3% of the population), partially vaccinating 288,544 people (6.8%) and boosting 1,650,029 (38.7%).
New deaths: Since May 31, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 24 deaths connected to COVID-19.
— Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt
