By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau
and QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Oregon’s COVID-19 infection rate is rising so fast that unless checked, businesses may have to close again and reopening schools this fall could be jeopardized, top state officials said Wednesday.
“Today, Oregon, you have a choice,” Gov. Kate Brown said. “A choice only you can make. What happens next is up to you.”
On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority reported 375 new COVID-19 cases, the largest single day total since the beginning of the pandemic, following the previous largest of 281 cases Wednesday. Oregon has experienced five weeks of increasing incidence, with the number of cases rising faster in rural communities and in central and eastern Oregon.
The press conference in Salem with Brown and top state health officials came a day after the governor had extended her emergency declaration for 60 days, to Sept. 4.
The governor and health experts underlined the need for public help in reducing infections as the July 4th holiday approaches, often a time for large gatherings and trips to the beaches or mountains.
Brown issued an order Monday that face coverings or masks be worn by anyone over the age of 12 in all public indoor space beginning Wednesday.
In the 100 days since she issued her order for people to stay home, Brown said COVID-19 cases had grown from 14 to more than 8,600, killing 208 people in the state through Wednesday. The pandemic has killed 125,000 in the United States, while the death toll worldwide has raced past 500,000 since the virus appeared in China at the very end of 2019.
About 20 percent of the new cases in Oregon have come in two weeks in June and the numbers continue an inexorable rise.
“We are on track to hit a worst case scenario,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s top infectious disease expert.
12 new COVID-19 cases in Lincoln County
In Lincoln County, the Oregon Health Authority reported 12 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday and another three for Wednesday, bringing the county’s total to 327. Of those cases, 269 are in Newport ZIP code of 97365 – more than double the rate of any other ZIP code in Oregon. There have been 4,571 negative tests in Lincoln County, a massive increase in the amount of testing over the past month when there were just a few hundred.
The source of much of Newport’s outbreak is Pacific Seafood, which reported 124 cases on June 7. That number has now increased to 180 as the OHA implements a new reporting procedure that connects tests from a business’ workers to family, friends and other close contacts who test positive for COVID-19.
The number of positive tests at Local Ocean restaurant in Newport went to 12, and three other restaurants – Clearwater, Georgie’s Grill and McDonald’s – all are now at seven.
County health officials were trying to determine from OHA data where the new cases originated, said Susan Trachsel, spokeswoman for the agency. Many different hospitals or laboratories report cases to the state and county health officials have to extract that information from the state’s computer systems.
But the number of county cases is expected to continue to climb as more testing is done. A federal Veterans Administration team was in Lincoln City on Wednesday testing 120 staff and residents at Lakeview Senior Living, where there has been an outbreak last week among staff. Trachsel said the team tested staff and residents Thursday at Oceanview Senior Living in Newport and SeaAire in Yachats.
Avamere Rehablitation in Newport said Thursday that an outbreak there had spread to 26 residents and employees. One resident, an 86-year-old woman with health issues, died Wednesday at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital after testing positive last week. It was the third COVID-19 death in the county.
Worst may yet to come.
Oregon could soon see 900 cases or more per day, according to state models. Daily hospital admissions could go from eight to 27 people per day.
If the current rate of spread increases exponentially, Oregon could see cases explode to 4,800 per day and 82 patients requiring hospital beds each day by the end of July.
“The trend is ominous,” Sidelinger said.
Brown said decisions on keeping businesses open and sending children into classrooms this fall were at stake in coming days. The state began a phased “reopening” of businesses and allowing larger gatherings on May 15.
Any business that does not enforce the mask rule would face investigation and could lose their business licenses and face other sanctions. Brown said she did not want law enforcement involved in any disputes and asked businesses and customers to be courteous to each other and “de-escalate” any dispute.
Though the state’s overall positive test rate of 4.3 percent is on the low end of the national scale, the virus is increasingly showing up in areas of Oregon that haven’t been hit hard before.
“We are seeing the fastest case growth in central and eastern Oregon counties, such as Deschutes, Malheur, Umatilla,” Sidelinger said.
The warnings in Oregon echoed those around the country as the coronavirus has spiked, especially in states such as Arizona, Texas and Florida that reopened businesses earlier than others.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, told Congress on Tuesday that the country was “going in the wrong direction” in the fight against COVID-19.
More than 48,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Wednesday across the country, with Oregon and seven other states hitting single-day highs in infections.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that the best way to show patriotism this July 4th was by helping gain “independence” from COVID-19, which has killed over 6,000 people in the state. Los Angeles County alone has recorded 100,000 cases. The state ordered 19 counties where infections are rising rapidly to close all bars, shutter the indoor portion of many businesses, close movie theaters and limit beach parking.
New York City will not allow indoor dining next week, as originally planned, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday. He cited the nationwide upward trend of cases of the virus that debilitated the city in the spring.
Oregon will begin reporting clusters of virus infection cases in child care facilities. Willamette Week reported this week that a Lake Oswego child care center had eight children and 12 teachers testing positive.
Those younger than 50 are the fastest growing segment of the population to become infected with COVID-19. The death rate for those younger than 50 is less than 1 percent. However, they can spread the infection to more vulnerable populations.
The chances of death rise to 20% for those 75 and older. The New York Times reported this week that long-term care homes have accounted for 55 percent of the pandemic deaths in Oregon. The national average was 43 percent.
Sidelinger said no matter how low, each case has an impact.
“We all have to remember that the numbers I speak about are people, our fellow Oregonians. These are people who are sick, and tragically, some of them have died. These are people with families. These people are our neighbors.”
The Oregon Capital Bureau in Salem is staffed by reporters from EO Media and Pamplin Media Group and provides state government and political news to their newspapers and media around Oregon, including YachatsNews.com