Coronavirus in Oregon: Hospitalizations fall in welcome sign of receding surge – OregonLive

Hospitals have reported the largest sustained decline in coronavirus hospitalizations since March, with 64 fewer patients occupying hospital beds Wednesday than when the current surge peaked 10 days ago at 464 hospitalizations.

Hospital space remains in short supply, however, with only 8% of intensive care units available for patients statewide and 7% of regular hospital beds available.

Health officials warned Oregonians last week that the hospital system is again facing a crisis, even though COVID-19 hospitalizations amount to less than half of what they were during the delta and omicron surge peaks. The strain on hospitals is driven at least in part by delays in getting people out of hospitals, staff burnout and patients coming in for issues they had left untreated during the worst of the pandemic.

COVID-19 community levels are high in 19 Oregon counties, according to federal benchmarks that incorporate hospitalizations, hospital admissions and new case counts. They include Multnomah County, though not Washington and Clackamas counties, which were previously listed, too. At high levels, health officials recommend that everyone wear masks when in indoor public places.

New reported coronavirus cases fell for the second consecutive as of Wednesday, though the 5% decline this week coincided with a 10% decline in testing. The 8,751 cases reported over the last seven days are considered a profound undercount, as have all cases reported since at-home tests became widely available.

The share of positive tests, reported at nearly 13% Wednesday, has remained above 10% since May.

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Since it began: Oregon has reported 848,046 confirmed or presumed infections and 8,061 deaths.

Hospitalizations: 400 people with confirmed coronavirus infections are hospitalized, down 24 since Wednesday, July 20. That includes 43 people in intensive care, down two since July 20.

Vaccinations: As of July 25, the state has reported fully vaccinating 2,937,559 people (68.8% of the population), partially vaccinating 302,252 people (7.1%) and boosting 1,714,863 (40.2%).

New deaths: Since July 20, the Oregon Health Authority has reported 80 additional deaths connected to COVID-19.

Fedor Zarkhin

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Coronavirus in Oregon: Hospitalizations fall in welcome sign of receding surge - OregonLive