Coronavirus Watch: Oregon breaks COVID-19 case record for the third day running – KDRV

PORTLAND, Ore. Oregon continued an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases on Thursday, easily doubling the single-day record for cases as it stood last week and breaking the record for the third day in a row.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 7,615 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number ever seen on a single day in the nearly two years since the pandemic began. This is after setting a record with 6,203 cases on Wednesday,4,540 cases on Tuesday, and with 3,534 cases last Thursday. Prior to that, the single-day high was 3,207 cases, set during the height of the Delta variant surge.

The state's overall test positivity rate also continued to spike, with 23.3% of total tests returning a positive result.

Testing is in high demand, OHA said Wednesday, with state officials noting a high volume of tests being performed this week. The number of COVID-19 tests reported Thursday was 38,880 one of the highest single-day counts since the pandemic began.

The OHA expects that it will begin receiving nearly 1.1 million rapid test kits this week, under an aforementioned plan to distribute the at-home kits throughout the state. Starting next Monday, the OHA's warehouse is expected to receive five trucks per week for five weeks in a row until the order is fulfilled.

"Since iHealth Labs is planning to ramp up product of the test kits, Oregons order may be fulfilled ahead of schedule," the agency said.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19, while rising, have not spiked at the same dramatic rate as overall cases perhaps lending credence to indications that the Omicron variant, while highly transmissable, produces less serious forms of illness. Still, health experts worry that infections will become so widespread that cases requiring hospitalization will overwhelm healthcare systems.

"Sudden surges of COVID-19 infections can lead to more people needing medical care than our hospital systems can treat at one time.," the OHA said. "Reducing the number of infections also prevents healthcare systems from exceeding their capacity."

As of Thursday morning, there were 588 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 across Oregon, 65 more than on Wednesday. There were 110 patients in intensive care units, two more than the day prior.

Statewide, there were 42 available adult ICU beds out of 645 total (7% availability) and 221 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,072 (5% availability).

Cases and deaths

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (17), Benton (317), Clackamas (756), Clatsop (45), Columbia (49), Coos (219), Crook (41), Curry (42), Deschutes (159), Douglas (91), Grant (14), Hood River (27), Jackson (441), Jefferson (62), Josephine (105), Klamath (70), Lake (4), Lane (623), Lincoln (74), Linn (204), Malheur (33), Marion (501), Morrow (34), Multnomah (1,598), Polk (275), Sherman (2), Tillamook (21), Umatilla (306), Union (27), Wallowa (1), Wasco (21), Washington (1,333) and Yamhill (103).

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Coronavirus Watch: Oregon breaks COVID-19 case record for the third day running - KDRV