Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is seen in an Oregonian/OregonLive file photo.Mark Graves/File
The Oregon Health Authority reported 353 new confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases and three deaths on Saturday.
Saturday’s count marks the third consecutive day that state officials have reported 300 or more cases.
The streak began on Thursday when the health authority reported a record-breaking case count for the third consecutive week with 437.
Disclosure of the cases comes a day after state officials reported the highest hospitalization total since the pandemic began with 158 Friday. The previous high was 156 on April 8.
The disclosure also comes just a few days after new mandates announced by Gov. Kate Brown Monday went into effect. The mandates ban indoor social gatherings of 10 or more people and require Oregonians to wear masks when they cannot maintain 6 feet of physical distance outdoors.
New cases by county: Benton (4), Clackamas (15), Clatsop (2), Coos (3), Crook (2), Deschutes (11), Douglas (4), Hood River (8), Jackson (7), Jefferson (2), Klamath (4), Lake (3), Lane (37), Lincoln (3), Linn (3), Malheur (5), Marion (31), Morrow (11), Multnomah (87), Polk (7), Sherman (3), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (35), Union (4), Wallowa (2), Wasco (5), Washington (47), and Yamhill (7).
New fatalities: Oregon’s 255th victim of the coronavirus is a 78-year-old man in Marion County who died in his home July 17 after testing positive three days prior. State officials have yet to determine if he had underlying health conditions.
The 256th victim of the coronavirus in Oregon is a 60-year-old man in Wallowa County. He died in his home July 16 after testing positive July 8. He had unspecified underlying health conditions.
An 81-year-old man in Lincoln County who had unspecified underlying health conditions is Oregon’s 257th victim of COVID-19. He died in his home July 4 and tested positive through a post-mortem test July 15.
Workplace outbreaks: State officials reported this week that 142 coronavirus cases have been connected to the Lamb Weston potato factory in Hermiston, which is the third largest workplace outbreak to date. The factory has been closed since June 15 and cooperated with health officials by testing all employees, a company spokesperson told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email.
Outbreaks at food processors and agricultural sites have infected nearly 1,000 Oregonians since March. However, workplace outbreaks are now outnumbered by what state officials call “sporadic spread” — cases whose origins are unclear.
Since it began: State officials have reported 14,149 presumed and confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
— Bryce Dole; [email protected]; 541-660-9844; @DoleBryce
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