With six more deaths to COVID-19 announced Saturday, the coronavirus has now taken more than 500 Oregon lives.
“These are our family members, our friends, neighbors and colleagues,” Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said in a written statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to every Oregonian who has suffered a loss to COVID-19.”
The state releases few identifying details of those who die of the virus, a concession to privacy concerns, but did share some facts about the people who brought the COVID-19 death toll to 505. They were:
The state also announced 293 new confirmed and presumed COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing total known infections to 29,156.
Nearly half of Oregon’s deaths to COVID-19 — 240 of the total — have been in the greater Portland metro area’s Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.
Another 85 people have died in Marion County and 41 in Malheur County.
Despite Saturday’s grim milestone, deaths and new diagnoses have been falling in Oregon for five straight weeks. New diagnoses are down 5% in the most recent week from the prior week, according to the Oregon Health Authority, which said deaths are also dropping and a smaller percentage of people tested are coming back positive for the virus. People in their 20s continue to be the most likely to contract COVID-19, while those older than 80 make up nearly half of all Oregon deaths from the virus.
Umatilla County is allowed to relax some coronavirus restrictions, effective immediately, the East Oregonian reported Friday.
That’s a reversal from the previous week, when Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority rejected the county’s application to enter Phase 2 of reopening. At the time, they said the county had more than 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents and did not meet other state metrics for easing restrictions.
Jackson and Jefferson counties have been removed from Oregon’s coronavirus watchlist, which documents the counties with the broadest spread of COVID-19, according to the Mail Tribune. The list allows the state to prioritize resources and increase monitoring. Both counties have seen improvements in transmission of the disease.
As COVID-19 infections slowly climb, health officials continue to express concerns that smoke from wildfires across the Pacific Northwest could affect recovery for people infected with the virus. Evacuating from fires while battling the coronavirus also comes with its own set of concerns.
“The first priority in wildfire situations is responding to the evacuation and safety instructions of local and state fire officials — and heeding their warnings. Regardless of disease status, if you are asked or ordered to evacuate, you should do so,” the Oregon Health Authority said in a press release Thursday.
The agency also asked people evacuating while quarantining to take these precautions:
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