COVID-19 cases remain high in Jackson County

Vickie Aldous, Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
·2 min read

Jul. 8—COVID-19 cases remain high in Jackson County, but the county has avoided a spike in deaths.

The Oregon Health Authority reported 594 new cases in Jackson County over the past week, for an average of almost 85 daily cases.

On Friday, Jackson County Public Health reported the COVID-19-related death of one person. The newly reported death hadn't yet been posted by OHA, which reported no deaths in Jackson County over the past week.

OHA reported no deaths in Josephine County for the past week while Oregon as a whole recorded six COVID-19-related deaths during that time.

OHA reported 189 new cases in Josephine County for the past week, for a daily average of 27 cases.

Jackson County Public Health reported Friday there were 48 patients with the virus in Jackson and Josephine county hospitals.

Across the state, 423 hospitalized patients had the virus, OHA reported Friday.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed both Jackson and Josephine counties in the high risk category for COVID-19.

During high risk conditions, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public, staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, getting tested if you have symptoms and taking additional precautions if you are at high risk for severe illness. Neither the federal nor state governments are mandating masks in public indoor settings, although Oregon does still require masks in health care settings.

Some Rogue Valley businesses have chosen to require their workers, or their workers plus their customers, to wear masks.

The CDC looks at a mix of COVID-19 case counts, new COVID-19 hospital admissions and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients to determine community risk levels in counties. Although case counts are high in Jackson and Josephine counties, hospitalization rates are far below those seen during the summer and fall surge triggered by the delta variant of the virus, or the winter surge caused by the omicron variant.

The delta surge overwhelmed Rogue Valley hospitals, leading to the cancellation of many surgeries unless a patient was likely to die soon or face grave consequences without immediate care.

To check county risk levels anywhere in the nation, see cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html.

Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or valdous@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @VickieAldous.