Oregon coronavirus update, Jan 26: State passes 6,000 deaths, 600,000 cases

Connor Radnovich, Salem Statesman Journal
·4 min read

To provide our community with important public safety information, the Statesman Journal is making this daily update related to the coronavirus free to read.

We'll update this story with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Oregon on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

State passes 6K deaths, 600K cases

With 8,207 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 54 newly reported deaths associated with the coronavirus, Oregon has recorded more than 6,000 total deaths and 600,000 total cases since the pandemic began nearly two years ago.

Oregon now sits at 6,048 deaths and 605,363 cases.

"We’ve lost mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, coworkers and neighbors. These losses pain all of us,” Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state health officer and state epidemiologist, said. “These losses also remind us that COVID-19 is still a formidable foe in Oregon, and the heart-wrenching impact on our lives is not behind us yet.”

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Sidelinger also noted that "nearly all" of the state's most recent deaths could have been prevented by COVID-19 vaccinations, which have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of serious illness from the coronavirus.

Of Wednesday's tally, Marion County accounted for 910 cases, while Polk County had 238.

Marion County residents accounted for five of the newly-reported deaths:

  • A 72-year-old woman who died Dec. 5 at her residence.

  • A 56-year-old man who died Jan. 19 at Salem Hospital.

  • A 70-year-old woman who died Jan. 21 at her residence.

  • A 78-year-old man who died Jan. 21 at Salem Hospital.

  • A 75-year-old woman who died Jan. 23 at Salem Hospital.

Hospitals statewide are treating 1,061 patients with COVID-19, including 155 in intensive care unit beds. Modeling from Oregon Health and Science University predicts hospitalizations will peak within the next week.

The state's adult ICU bed capacity is at 90% and non-ICU bed capacity is at 94%.

Public health officials are asking Oregonians to follow coronavirus public health guidelines, including wearing masks indoors and in crowded outdoor locations, keeping distance from other people and staying home when you have tested positive or suspect you have symptoms of COVID-19.

Cases decline, hospitalizations rise

During the week of Jan. 17-23, COVID-19 cases in Oregon declined by 9.5% compared to the previous week, but new hospitalizations increased by 45%, according to the Oregon Health Authority's weekly report, released Wednesday.

Hospitalizations are nearing the levels seen during the delta variant surge in early September.

Public health officials have warned that case counts might not present as clear a picture of the pandemic's toll as it did in the past due to the omicron variant's high transmission rate, the increase of at-home tests (which are not often reported to the state) and asymptomatic cases.

However, percentage of test positivity also rose last week from 22.5% to 25%, another sign that COVID-19 is still spreading at historic rates in Oregon.

COVID-19 patients at Salem Health

Coronavirus patient numbers at Salem Health on Wednesday, Jan. 26:

  • 113: Total COVID-19 inpatients, 59% unvaccinated.

  • 7: COVID-19 patients in the ICU.

  • 3: COVID-19 patients on a ventilator.

COVID-19 by the numbers statewide

Here's the most recent data from the Oregon Health Authority, as of Wednesday, Jan. 26:

  • 6,048: People who have died from COVID-19.

  • 605,363 Total cases of COVID-19.

  • 1,061: COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

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Oregon COVID-19 cases by county

Here are the number of cases, both tested positive and presumptive, and deaths as of Wednesday, Jan. 26:

  • Baker: 2,846 cases, 41 deaths.

  • Benton: 12,278 cases, 50 deaths.

  • Clackamas: 52,423 cases, 475 deaths.

  • Clatsop: 3,868 cases, 37 deaths.

  • Columbia: 6,324 cases, 68 deaths.

  • Coos: 9,006 cases, 130 deaths.

  • Crook: 5,039 cases, 62 deaths.

  • Curry: 2,728 cases, 41 deaths.

  • Deschutes: 39,976 cases, 231 deaths.

  • Douglas: 17,031 cases, 330 deaths.

  • Gilliam: 248 cases, 4 deaths.

  • Grant: 1,452 cases, 18 deaths.

  • Harney: 1,358 cases, 35 deaths.

  • Hood River: 3,035 cases, 40 deaths.

  • Jackson: 36,675 cases, 427 deaths.

  • Jefferson: 6,260 cases, 71 deaths.

  • Josephine: 13,899 cases, 296 deaths.

  • Klamath: 12,019 cases, 181 deaths.

  • Lake: 1,221 cases, 23 deaths.

  • Lane: 47,190 cases, 402 deaths.

  • Lincoln: 5,649 cases, 64 deaths.

  • Linn: 22,023 cases, 222 deaths.

  • Malheur: 7,405 cases, 97 deaths.

  • Marion: 59,105 cases, 580 deaths.

  • Morrow: 2,748 cases, 26 deaths.

  • Multnomah: 98,786 cases, 956 deaths.

  • Polk: 12,834 cases, 115 deaths.

  • Sherman: 283 cases, 3 deaths.

  • Tillamook: 3,085 cases, 54 deaths.

  • Umatilla: 20,443 cases, 192 deaths.

  • Union: 4,371 cases, 66 deaths.

  • Wallowa: 1,064 cases, 13 deaths.

  • Wasco: 4,376 cases, 50 deaths.

  • Washington: 73,233 cases, 471 deaths.

  • Wheeler: 207 cases, 3 death.

  • Yamhill: 14,875 cases, 174 deaths.

Source: Oregon Health Authority

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon passes passes 6,000 deaths, 600,000 cases