Oregon’s coronavirus status remains relatively stable, with health officials reporting a marginal increase in reported cases this week and a 24-bed increase in hospitalizations.
Last week, health officials said trends across the board were looking good, including for hospitalizations related not just to COVID-19 but to RSV and influenza, too, to the point that they could consider lifting Oregon’s last remaining mask mandate in coming months.
“I feel fairly confident in saying that we will have criteria and trends that would allow the lifting of the healthcare masking requirements over the next couple of months,” state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said at a news briefing Feb. 9.
Oregon lifted its mandate for masks in public spaces about 11 months ago, last March, but the requirement for masks in health care settings remained.
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Since it began: Oregon has reported 956,770 confirmed or presumed infections and 9,296 deaths.
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Hospitalizations: 250 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, up 24 since Feb. 8. That includes 30 people in intensive care, up four since Feb. 8.
New deaths: Since Feb. 8, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 46 additional deaths connected to COVID-19.
— Fedor Zarkhin