More than 700 people have died with coronavirus in Oregon, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday by state health officials. The Oregon Health Authority announced nine deaths, bringing the Oregon death toll to 701, since the pandemic began last winter.
The pace of death may be getting faster. Over the last ten days, 48 Oregonians have died of COVID-19, and over the last three weeks, an average of 4.65 people have died each day of the disease. That’s a significantly higher rate than the previous three-week period from late Septenber to mid-October, when roughly 3.45 people died each day. And that was an increase from the three-week period before that, when the average was 3.2 per day.
The most recent nine deaths come from various parts of Oregon - urban areas like Multnomah and Washington counties, as well as more rural areas, in Jefferson and Josephine counties. The youngest person to die was a 47 year-old woman with underlying health conditions who died at home. Five of the people who died were over 80.
The number of positive cases and hospitalizations are also on the rise in Oregon. The latest figures from OHA show 234 people are in hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms - the highest that number’s been since July. That includes 92 who are on ventilators or in intensive care units.
Positive cases also continue to increase. Tuesday marked the first time in the last six days, that Oregon had recorded fewer than 500 COVID-19 cases, with 495. To date, Oregon has had a total of 46,460 positive cases.