Marion County's COVID-19 cases up 90%, but it could be partly a reporting issue

Mike Stucka
·3 min read

New coronavirus cases leaped in Oregon in the week ending Sunday, rising 107% as 7,084 cases were reported. The previous week had 3,423 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Oregon ranked 37th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

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In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States increased 67.6% from the week before, with 843,458 cases reported. With 1.27% of the country's population, Oregon had 0.84% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 48 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Thanksgiving significantly disrupted who got tested, how many people got tested, what labs operated and what government agencies reported on time. Some governments reported three days of data for Thanksgiving week; some reported none.

The reporting of many cases and deaths were shifted from Thanksgiving's week into last week, making Thanksgiving week artificially low and the latest week artificially high, skewing the week-to-week comparison. These numbers are unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Vaccine requirements: 99 Oregon state workers fired for not getting COVID-19 vaccine

Marion County reported 561 cases and 12 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 295 cases and 12 deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 40,153 cases and 516 deaths.

Polk County reported 189 cases and four deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 108 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 8,325 cases and 102 deaths.

Within Oregon, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Crook County with 529 cases per 100,000 per week; Deschutes County with 310; and Jefferson County with 304. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Multnomah County, with 952 cases; Washington County, with 788 cases; and Clackamas County, with 614. Weekly case counts rose in 34 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Multnomah, Washington and Lane counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Oregon ranked 18th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 70.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 68.8%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows.

In the week ending Thursday, Oregon reported administering another 162,304 vaccine doses, including 47,336 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 106,040 vaccine doses, including 19,095 first doses. In all, Oregon reported it has administered 5,977,918 total doses.

Medical Assistant Melissa Estrada prepares a COVID-19 antigen test at Lancaster Family Health Center in Salem, Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021.
Medical Assistant Melissa Estrada prepares a COVID-19 antigen test at Lancaster Family Health Center in Salem, Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021.

In Oregon, 127 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 202 people were reported dead.

A total of 394,569 people in Oregon have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 5,243 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 49,085,361 people have tested positive and 788,363 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Dec. 5.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 799

  • The week before that: 773

  • Four weeks ago: 859

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 88,233

  • The week before that: 76,364

  • Four weeks ago: 68,138

Hospitals in 33 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 28 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 45 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon COVID-19 cases up 107%, but it could be a reporting issue