The Oregon Health Authority announced 529 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday along with seven new deaths, raising the state’s coronavirus death toll to 2,031.
The new cases come as Gov. Kate Brown announced that restaurants, bars and brewpubs in the Portland metro area could reopen for indoor dining with a limited capacity starting Friday.
Falling COVID-19 cases led Brown to shift 10 Oregon counties — including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington — from the “extreme” to the “high” risk category, allowing the partial reopening of some businesses including restaurants, gyms and movie theaters for the first time since November.
Gyms in the Portland area can also reopen for indoor workouts of up to 50 people starting Friday. Brown relaxed the restrictions on gyms a bit last month, allowing up to six clients inside, after indoor workouts were shut down across much of the state last November as coronavirus infections were soaring.
The state opened up general vaccinations to Oregonians ages 80 and older on Monday, in a day wreaked by online havoc and frustration as metro-area appointments filled up within hours of registration opening.
Many were able to secure appointment slots over the next week, but local health providers who run the Portland area’s two vaccination clinics couldn’t say on what date new appointments would open up for booking. It appears, however, that the next available appointments won’t likely be until Wednesday, Feb. 17.
Where the new cases are by county: Baker (4), Benton (20), Clackamas (65), Clatsop (2), Columbia (3), Coos (9), Crook (1), Curry (3), Deschutes (5), Douglas (16), Grant (1), Harney (18), Hood River (10), Jackson (19), Jefferson (5), Josephine (20), Klamath (9), Lake (13), Lane (39), Lincoln (1), Linn (9), Malheur (1), Marion (54), Morrow (3), Multnomah (78), Polk (19), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (29), Union (5), Wallowa (9), Wasco (7), Washington (40) and Yamhill (11).
Who died: The 2,025th death is a 68-year-old Columbia County woman who tested positive Dec. 22 and died Feb. 4 at her residence.
The 2,026th death is a 92-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive Nov. 23 and died Dec. 9 at her residence.
The 2,027th death is a 92-year-old Josephine County man who tested positive Dec. 21 and died Jan. 17 at his residence.
The 2,028th death is an 82-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Dec. 16 and died Feb. 6 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.
The 2,029th death is a 79-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Feb. 2 at his residence.
The 2,030th death is a 77-year-old Union County woman in who tested positive Jan. 22 and died Feb. 7 at Grande Ronde Hospital.
The 2,031st death is a 44-year-old Hood River County man who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Feb. 6. Location of death is being confirmed.
Unless noted above, each person who died had underlying health conditions or state officials were working to determine if the person had underlying medical conditions.
The prevalence of infections: On Tuesday, the state reported 622 new positive tests out of 14,063 tests performed, equaling a 4.4% positivity rate.
The OHA said it received about 3,000 negative laboratory results Feb. 8 from tests performed June 1 to Feb. 2 due to a delay in reporting. Total lab results are higher for Feb. 8 than usual, but there was no change in percent positivity, the health authority said.
Who’s in the hospital: The state reported 226 Oregonians with confirmed coronavirus infections were hospitalized Tuesday, five more than Monday. Of those, 53 coronavirus patients were in intensive care units, two fewer than Monday.
Vaccines administered: Oregon has administered 588,740 first and second doses out of 801,125 received, which is about 73.5% of its supply. Oregon reported 16,340 newly administered doses, which includes 7,863 on Monday and the remainder from previous days.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 147,932 confirmed or presumed infections and 2,031 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported over 3,328,998 lab reports from tests.
— Jaimie Ding
jding@oregonian.com; 503-221-4395; @j_dingdingding