The New Era
Oregon’s reported COVID deaths went over the 3,000 mark last week as the wave of COVID-19 infections, spurred by the Delta Variant, sent the numbers of new confirmed and presumptive cases to new heights.
On Monday, Aug. 23, the Oregon Health Authority had reported 257,644 cases and 3,036 deaths attributed to COVID in the state since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 35,845 since Aug. 2, and 14,753 in the past week.
According to OHA, Linn County has had 7,571 cases and 82 deaths. A total of 665 cases had been recorded as of Monday in Sweet Home’s 97386 zip code, an increase of 53 from the previous week. Lebanon was up to 1,818, from 1,697 on Aug. 16.
The six-county region in which Linn County is located, along with Benton, Marion, Polk, Yamhill and Lincoln counties, had 88 of 95 ICU beds occupied and 666 of 705 non-ICU bed, which could be further limited by staffing shortages, the OHA said.
The state exceeded the 3,000-death mark on Friday, Aug. 20.