Oregon reports 259 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 2 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — COVID-19 has claimed two more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 414, the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 259 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 24,421.
The new cases are in the following counties: Benton (2), Clackamas (16), Columbia (1), Coos (1), Curry (1), Deschutes (2), Douglas (1), Hood River (2), Jackson (18), Jefferson (6), Klamath (2), Lane (4), Lincoln (6), Linn (3), Malheur (28), Marion (55), Morrow (3), Multnomah (38), Polk (8), Umatilla (17), Union (1), Wasco (1), Washington (25) and Yamhill (18).
Oregon’s 413th COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on July 24 and died on Aug. 19 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend. He had underlying conditions.
Oregon’s 414th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Aug. 11 and died on Aug. 19 at Salem Hospital. She had underlying conditions.
COVID 19 modeling data shows improvement
OHA released its latest modeling update today. As with previous reports, it modeled three future scenarios with different assumptions about transmission levels. The models start Aug. 14 and project over the next month.
- The first scenario showed that if transmission continues at its current rate, the estimated number of approximately 900 new daily infections would remain steady over the next 4 weeks. The number of new severe cases would continue at approximately 19 per day, by Sept. 10. The Re is – transmission rate – is projected to remain at 1.
- In a scenario where transmission decreases by 10 percentage points and continues at that level over the next month, the estimated daily number of new infections and newly diagnosed cases would decrease. That model shows there would be 300 new infections daily and 11 new severe cases per day. That transmission rate is .75.
- In a scenario where transmission increases by 10 percentage points and continues at that level over the next month, the estimated daily number of new infections and newly diagnosed cases would increase. That model projects 2,200 new daily infections and 29 new severe cases per day by Sept. 10. That transmission rate is 1.25.
Oregon State Public Health Laboratory secures supplies to process over 400,000 specimens to increase in-state testing capacity
Today, OHA announced that it had secured supplies to process more than 400,000 COVID-19 specimens via an agreement between the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory (OSPHL) and ThermoFisher.
The supplies will be distributed to certain qualifying laboratories, increasing Oregon’s overall COVID-19 testing capacity. The agreement will add capacity to process at least an additional 20,000 tests per week on average.
“This is an important step toward securing the COVID-19 testing capacity that our state needs,” said Patrick Allen, OHA director. “As we’ve said for months, without adequate testing, we cannot truly suppress the virus in our communities.”
The new agreement builds on one that OSPHL had in place with ThermoFisher and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May and June, under which OSPHL received and distributed supplies to process some 130,000 specimens.
OHSU, McKenzie Willamette Hospital and the Willamette Valley Toxicology Laboratory/OSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory participated in that program. The OSPHL will continue to distribute the kits to these three laboratories and will reach out to additional qualified laboratories to further expand testing capacity in Oregon.
Note: The following slides were cited in Governor Brown’s press conference today:
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.
