Record number of Oregon COVID-19 cases reflect both continued surge & holiday reporting lag

By David Steves (OPB)
Nov. 28, 2020 10:53 p.m.

Eleven more Oregonians have lost their lives to COVID-19.

The Oregon Health Authority reported that the latest daily count released on Saturday has brought the state’s death toll from the pandemic to 896. Oregon also saw a daily jump of 1,669 newly confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases.

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Saturday’s reported daily case count set a new single-day record in the state. It was nearly double the 885 daily figure reported Friday by the OHA. The agency had had said it anticipated an unusually high daily case count on Saturday because several local health departments’ daily reports had been delayed by the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Among the 11 Oregonians reported Saturday to have died from COVID-19, all were either older than 60 or had underlying medical conditions.

Oregon, like the rest of the United States, has been experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. The governors of Oregon, Washington and California have issued advisories urging against non-essential out-of-state travel, and asking people to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country.

Gov. Kate Brown’s latest restrictions dubbed a “freeze” on activities such as gatherings of a certain time and limits on the number of people who can be permitted in certain types of businesses, is set to expire next Thursday.

She said just before Thanksgiving that most counties will continue to have restrictions after the freeze is lifted. She and her health policy advisors unveiled a new framework for classifying risk in the state, as well as some of the ongoing restrictions that will continue after Thursday. Bars and restaurants would be allowed to have up to 50 customers dining outdoors, with tables limited to parties of six. Service would have to stop at 11 p.m.

Twenty-one of Oregon’s 36 counties are currently considered at “extreme risk,” according to information Brown’s office released Wednesday. They include Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas in the Portland metro area, as well as Lane, Marion and Deschutes counties, which are other population hubs, with the cities of Eugene, Salem and Bend, respectively.

In these “extreme risk” counties, limits will include a six-person cap on social gatherings, the continued closure of gyms, and 50% capacity restrictions at grocery stores and churches and other religious gathering places.

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