Case numbers of COVID-19 over the last two weeks have plateaued and dipped; they are no longer breaking records daily. According to OHSU analyst Dr. Peter Graven this is great news! However, the number of cases we have seen with the omicron variant, almost an 11,000 a day at the peak, is plummeting. Unfortunate. The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 1,092, which is five more than yesterday. There are 172 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is 11 fewer than yesterday. Test positivity rates have fallen dramatically, as well, from around 27% of COVID-19 tests reported Jan. 20 coming back positive to 16% of the ones reported Friday.
According to the latest figures from the Oregon Health Authority, a total of 440 people are presently hospitalized due to COVID-19 across the state. There currently are only 50 available adult intensive care unit beds and 94% of the state’s staffed adult non-ICU beds are full.
For COVID cases, “The data is showing that the increase in hospitalization we’ve seen over the last really four or five weeks is coming to a halt. That we’re at the peak we think of where our numbers are going to end up,” Graven said. But for Omicron, “It’s like a hike, you know, you use your heart to get to the top, but then the decline is also sometimes just as much work, hard on your knees. So, you see we have a whole hill to get down as well,” Graven said.
“The data supports the fact that both Oregon’s high masking rate and ability that Oregonians took to kind of modify their behavior, is actually what set us apart. So, because of that, we, of course, don’t want to abandon that just yet,” Graven said. And if we keep it up, “I think all science point to the fact that by April and May, many of those types of actions won’t be needed in the same way,” Graven said.
Erik Robinson, the senior communications specialist for Oregon Health and Science University told Oregon Public Broadcasting this week, that the forecast “reflects changes in assumptions about omicron,” including new data from Europe that indicates a lower hospitalization rate from this variant than from other strains of the virus. The Oregon Health Authority says for the time being it is moving forward with the permanent mask rule but says when things get better and masks are no longer needed, it will reverse it.
Since it began: Oregon has reported 654,343 confirmed or presumed infections and 6,214 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. Currently 74% of people in Oregon who are 18 or older are fully vaccinated, based on data from the state health authority. Nearly one-third of Oregon’s adult population have received a booster shot.
