Coronavirus updates Thursday: Oregon records 2nd straight day of record cases – News – The Register-Guard

PORTLAND — The Oregon Health Authority said Thursday there were 375 additional confirmed and presumptive cases of the coronavirus statewide, the second straight day that Oregon has broken a record for the number of daily cases since the pandemic began.

Oregon has seen an increase in case numbers for five weeks in a row and the virus is spreading faster in rural communities in the central and eastern part of the state, state health authorities said. The total number of cases statewide as of Thursday was 9,294.

Umatilla County accounted for 88 of the cases announced Thursday, while Multnomah County had 64 cases. Health authorities attributed the high numbers in Umatilla County to both an outbreak and community spread.

The state also reported another death, bringing the total to 209 deaths statewide.

Gov. Kate Brown ordered all Oregonians to begin wearing a mask in indoor public spaces starting Wednesday.

Brown also extended her emergency declaration 60 more days until Sept. 4 and warned at a news conference Wednesday that she may have to reverse elements of the state’s gradual reopening if infection rates continue to rise.

— Associated Press

The death count from the coronavirus pandemic, now over 127,000 in the U.S., has long been regarded as an underestimate. A new study says the actual death toll could be 35% higher.

The study, conducted by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth and Yale universities and published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said there were 87,000 more deaths than expected in the U.S. from March 1 to April 25, based on the average from the previous five years.

But only 65% of those deaths were directly attributed to COVID-19, suggesting the rest were linked to the pandemic but not ruled as the main cause.

Dr. Steven Woolf, the study’s lead author, said reasons for the undercount may include lack of reporting and other health complications that might have been listed as the cause of death.

“But a third possibility, the one we’re quite concerned about, is indirect mortality — deaths caused by the response to the pandemic,” Woolf said. “People who never had the virus may have died from other causes because of the spillover effects of the pandemic, such as delayed medical care, economic hardship or emotional distress.”

The report noted that deaths from causes other than the coronavirus increased markedly in the hardest-hit states in March and April.

Officials: Oregon could reach 900 new COVID-19 cases a day

SALEM — Oregon had a record 281 new confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, but officials predict that the increase may become much steeper during the next month – potentially reaching 900 new cases per day.

In addition, health officials said daily admissions to hospitals could increase from about eight people per day to 27.

“Our latest projections showed that we are on track to hit a worst case scenario model that we had just two weeks ago,” Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s epidemiologist, said at a news conference.

Oregon has had five straight weeks of case growth, reaching nearly 9,000 total confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday.

“We all have to remember that the numbers, I speak about, are people. They are our fellow Oregonians,” Sidelinger said. “These are people who are sick, and tragically some of whom have died. These are people with families. These people are our neighbors.”

More than a quarter of the coronavirus cases in the state were identified in the past two weeks. As of Wednesday, 208 people in Oregon have died from coronavirus.

Sidelinger said that COVID-19 is circulating more widely in the community, and rising fastest in rural counties — specifically in central and Eastern Oregon.

Sidelinger called the increasing trends and projections “ominous.”

“We use the models for planning purposes, they are not predictions,” Sidelinger said. “But, the model shows us where we are all headed if we don’t act.”

Beginning Wednesday, people throughout Oregon are required to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces to slow the spread of coronavirus.

“Modeling from the Oregon Health Authority shows that if we don’t take further action to reduce the spread of the disease, our hospitals could be overwhelmed by new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations within weeks,” Gov. Kate Brown said.

In addition on Tuesday Brown extended the COVID-19 state of emergency for 60 days.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

— By Sara Cline/The Associated Press/Report for America

Gov. Brown extends COVID-19 statewide emergency

Troubling developments in a spate of new COVID-19 cases in Lane County residents include large clusters of young people who appear to have spread the virus to others and two cases reported Tuesday with no known link to other confirmed cases.

Rising cases across Oregon also have prompted a statewide rule change that takes effect Wednesday: Everyone in a public, indoor setting must wear a face covering.

Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday extended until Sept. 4 her declaration of a state of emergency in Oregon concerning the pandemic. The state of emergency gives Brown the authority to continue the various executive orders she has taken, such as the stay-at-home order in March.

California takes major step back in reopening after COVID-19 case surge

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that 19 counties in California would take a major step back in reopening plans as the state grapples with rising positive tests and deaths from the coronavirus.

The counties include Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Ventura, and they encompass almost 75% of the state’s population of 40 million. COVID-19 cases in California have increased nearly 50% over the past two weeks, and hospitalizations have risen by 43%.

Just days ahead of the busy Fourth of July weekend, Newsom said enforcement strike teams would help enforce social distancing rules, including mask wearing. He expects the rollback to last at least three weeks.

— USA TODAY

DC to see fireworks, Blue Angels on Fourth; mayor not celebrating

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host a Salute to America on Independence Day over the objections of Washington, D.C.’s mayor. The event will feature flyovers by the Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels and a massive fireworks display that annually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. The National Mall and surrounding areas will remain open and available to the general public for prime viewing, the Department of the Interior said.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, however, urged residents to stay at home to avoid fueling spread of COVID-19, which has seen a surge in cases in recent days.

“We’ve communicated to (Interior) that we do not think this is in keeping with the best CDC and Department of Health guidance,” Bowser said. “But this event will take place entirely on the federal property.”

— USA TODAY

Pew Research Center: Ethnic slurs on rise since beginning of COVID-19 outbreak

Almost 40% of Asian and African Americans say they’ve had adverse experiences because of their race or ethnicity since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to a study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center released Wednesday.

Incidents include hearing slurs or jokes or fearing someone may threaten or physically attack them. Almost 40% of U.S. adults – including 58% of the respondents of Asian descent – said it’s more common for people to express racist views about Asians than before the outbreak, which has been traced to the Chinese city of Wuhan.

“Our community is struggling to cope with COVID-19 xenophobic attacks,” said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. “It is heartbreaking to know that both Asian and Black people have to struggle with the paradox of putting their safety at risk when they are wearing face masks to protect their health.”

— USA TODAY

Most with COVID-19 don’t know who infected them

Most people infected with the coronavirus don’t know who they got it from, making the task of contract tracing especially difficult. A survey published by the CDC found 54% of those infected couldn’t pinpoint the source, highlighting the prevalence of asymptomatic disease and transmission.

“It’s very concerning,” said Dr. Joshua Barocas, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University. “We have seen asymptomatic disease is incredibly common, not just in what we classify as low-risk populations but also high-risk populations.”

— USA TODAY

Students in Alabama partaking in ‘COVID parties’

Alabama officials are reporting that students who have contracted the coronavirus are getting purposely invited to “COVID parties” in and around Tuscaloosa, where the University of Alabama is located, as part of a contest for others to get infected.

“They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID,” Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry told ABC News. “Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot. It makes no sense. They’re intentionally doing it.”

Tuscaloosa Fire Chief Randy Smith confirmed McKinstry’s account in a meeting of the City Council on Tuesday.

— USA TODAY

Mount Rushmore will host celebration, minus social distancing

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said despite health experts’ concerns about a large gathering amid the coronavirus pandemic, people would “not be social distancing” during a July 3 celebration at Mount Rushmore that President Donald Trump will attend. Free masks will be provided to those who choose to wear them, but people concerned about social distancing should stay home, Noem said.

“In South Dakota, we’ve told people to focus on personal responsibility,” Noem told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “Every one of them has the opportunity to make a decision that they’re comfortable with. So, we will be having celebrations of American independence.”

— USA TODAY

Pfizer vaccine shows positive early results

A small and early study of a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine found it raised levels of some protective antibodies more than those antibodies were raised in people who’ve recovered from COVID-19. The results are encouraging but not proof the BNT162b1 candidate vaccine created by the pharmaceutical giant and the German biotech company BioNTech will be effective in preventing coronavirus infections.

The study included 36 people who got the actual vaccine and nine who got placebo shots. The results were from Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, which test whether a vaccine is safe and at what doses but aren’t meant to prove it is effective in preventing the disease. Some of the volunteers who got the vaccine reported fever, chills, muscle and joint pain after the injection, but the symptoms peaked the day after the injection and resolved within a week.

The findings were published in a preprint paper, which means the results are preliminary and have not undergone the normal peer-review process required for publication in medical or scientific journals. Pfizer said that if the studies are successful and the vaccine candidate receives regulatory approval, the companies expect to manufacture up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020.

— USA TODAY

‘Pooling’ could drastically increase testing capacity

Public health officials say a new “pooling” approach for coronavirus testing could dramatically boost U.S. screening capacity by combining test samples in batches instead of running them one by one. If the batches come up negative, individual tests are not needed. But a positive would mean testing each individual sample. The Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines for test makers two weeks ago but has not approved the protocols until they are tested for accuracy.

FDA approval could help stretch laboratory supplies, reduce costs and expand testing to millions more Americans. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, says pooling “would give us the capacity to go from a half-a-million tests per day to potentially 5 million individuals tested per day.”

— USA TODAY

Companies add 2.4 million jobs as economy restarts amid uncertainty

U.S. companies added nearly 2.4 million jobs in June as the economy struggled to recover amid the unrelenting pandemic, according to a private survey. The payroll company ADP said that small businesses reported the biggest increase, adding 937,000 jobs. Still, the economy remains under pressure amid a new spike in cases across much of the South and West. On Thursday, the government will release the jobs figures for June, projected to show that employers added 3 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 12.3%. That would be down a point from May, although both rates are among the highest since the Great Depression.

— USA TODAY

PPE shortage still an issue as cases rise

Physicians and nurses still face a dearth of supplies as coronavirus cases continue to rise nationwide. Nearly 45% of those surveyed by the American Nurses Association said they experienced protective gear shortages as late as May 31. Almost 80% said their employers encouraged or required them to reuse disposable equipment.

The USA TODAY Network analyzed dozens of government reports and interviewed more than 50 experts — including health care administrators, traders and lawmakers — about the PPE shortages, especially the disposable masks that cost anywhere from a few pennies to a dollar.

“The magnitude and speed of the spread of coronavirus just overwhelmed the entire supply chain from A to Z,” said Mike Crotty, an Ohio-born, Shanghai textile broker with more than 35 years in the business. “It was a madhouse.”

— USA TODAY

Wednesday’s numbers

There were 44,766 new cases confirmed nationwide, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Other media tallies put the case count as high as 48,000, which would be a record for daily totals. Globally, there have been more than 10.5 million cases and 512,000 deaths. In the U.S., cases have surpassed 2.6 million with over 127,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.

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Lane County COVID-19 ZIP code map

Lane County Public Health has posted a map of known cases of COVID-19 organized by ZIP code on its page of Testing, Patient and Resource Information.

By the numbers: COVID-19 cases in Oregon

Reported by Oregon Health Authority, updated at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Case investigations

8,931: Total cases confirmed by test and presumptive cases

208: Total deaths

8,525: Tests that are positive

234,429: Tests that were negative

242,954: Total number of tests given

Cases by age group

0 to 9: 332 (4%)

10 to 19: 682 (8%)

20 to 29: 1,762 (20%)

30 to 39: 1,565 (18%), 1 death

40 to 49: 1,479 (17%), 3 deaths

50 to 59: 1,288 (14%), 9 deaths

60 to 69: 880 (10%), 41 deaths

70 to 79: 546 (6%), 56 deaths

80 and older: 382 (4%), 98 deaths

Not available: 15 (0%)

Sex

Female: 4,641 cases (52%), 90 deaths (43%)

Male: 4,280 cases (48%), 118 deaths (57%)

Non-binary: 1 case (0%), 0 deaths

Not available: 9 cases (0%), 0 deaths

Hospitalized

Hospitalized: 1,055 (12%)

Not hospitalized: 7,022 (79%)

Not provided: 854 (10%)

Source: Oregon Health Authority

Number of US cases by state

Directories of open local businesses, including those doing delivery, take-out

The Eugene and Springfield chambers of commerce are compiling listings of local businesses that are open and the modified ways they are offering their goods and services to make it easier for people to support them while staying home.

Read the full story, including links to the lists, here.

Closures, cancellations and postponements

See The Register-Guard’s cancellation list here.

People reported to have contactracted novel coronavirus in US, by day