To provide our community with important public safety information, The Register-Guard is making this daily update related to the coronavirus free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.
Lane County reported 77 confirmed or presumptive cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, raising the countywide case count to 30,973. The death toll remains at 341.
There were 260 people considered infectious, a slight increase compared to Tuesday’s 238.
Twenty-seven Lane County residents were hospitalized Wednesday, with four in intensive care and one on a ventilator, all unchanged from Tuesday.
Of the 27 county residents hospitalized Thursday, 74.1%, or 20, were unvaccinated, LCPH reported.
As of Dec. 14, 265,880 people in Lane County, 69.71% of the total population, had received first or second vaccine doses with 576,815 first and second doses administered in Lane County, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
Lane County’s COVID cases plummet 46.5%; Oregon cases fall 20.7%
Oregon reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 5,619 new cases. That’s down 20.7% from the previous week’s tally of 7,084 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
Oregon ranked ninth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the slowest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 3.8% from the week before, with 821,545 cases reported. With 1.27% of the country’s population, Oregon had 0.68% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 18 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
The previous week used for comparisons in this report was likely skewed by cases and deaths artificially delayed from the week that included Thanksgiving. If the previous week was artificially high, cases and deaths either decreased less, or increased more, than these numbers reflect.
WA wrestling tourneys linked to dozens of COVID cases
OLYMPIA — Health authorities in Washington state say nearly 100 COVID-19 cases have been linked to recent high school wrestling tournaments.
The Department of Health, along with local health jurisdictions, started by investigating several outbreaks among unvaccinated and vaccinated people. Between 80 to 90 cases have been linked to the tournaments that happened. Dec. 4.
They were the John Birbeck Invitational in Lacey, Washington; Yelm Girls Varsity in Yelm, Washington; Ed Arima Duals in Sumner, Washington; and the Lady Jags Kickoff Tournament in Puyallup, Washington.
The state health department said counties that had high schools at the tournaments were Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Skagit, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston, Whatcom and Yakima.
There was also one Oregon high school with participants.
Authorities say anyone who attended the tournaments should monitor for symptoms and get tested for COVID-19. Anyone with symptoms or who tests positive should stay home.
Officials say they will send out notifications to those directly impacted soon.
— The Associated Press
Omicron variant spreading fast in Washington state
SEATTLE — The omicron variant is spreading at an alarming rate in Washington state, doubling in case numbers each day, one of the highest rates in the country. It is leading to a call for people to get vaccinated and take extra precautions as we head into the holidays.
Researchers at the University of Washington Medicine lab knew the omicron variant could spread quickly, but not this fast. In just three days the variant doubled in positive test size each day from 3 percent to 7 percent to 13 percent, KOMO-TV reported.
“What was surprising was how fast that curve appears to have taken off,” said Dr. Pavitra Roychoudhury of UW Medicine. “Just the steepness of the rise and the percentage of potential omicron cases.”
Respiratory therapist Liz Lewis at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma said she’s worried there will be an uptick in hospitalizations when they are already facing staffing shortages even though the variant may not be as harmful at the delta variant.
She and other medical leaders said the best way to combat the quick spread of the omicron variant is to get vaccinated. The governor said it’s important to take the next step at get the booster to protect you against the omicron variant.
— The Associated Press
Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.