Oregon COVID-19 Update: More Cases, Fewer Hospitalizations, Masks

PORTLAND, OR — The number of new COVID-19 cases daily in Oregon has risen and more than tripled in the past month.

Before mask mandates were loosened, the state was seeing around 200 cases per day; the number now is more than 600 per day.

The news came in the first public briefing by Oregon health officials in more than a month.

Cases are rising, but Oregon is not seeing a similar rise in hospitalizations, officials said. Yet.

Dr. Tom Jeanne, the deputy state health officer and deputy state epidemiologist, cautioned that hospitalizations are "a lagging indicator."

As a result, officials expected to see increases in both hospitalizations and deaths, though the increases won't reach levels seen under the first wave of omicron.

"We're also going to see an impact on our hospitalizations here, and deaths, as those cases go up," Jeanne said. "But the projections look like any peak we're going to see in the near future is going to be quite a bit lower than our large peaks last year and this past winter."

Officials were still studying the numbers, but the increases were likely tied to the relaxation of mask mandates and more people socializing, Jeanne said.

"It's been a little more than four weeks since the lifting of mask use in most settings, and some of the jump we're seeing in case counts is likely tired to mask use, and more Oregonians gathering indoors and returning ro pre-pandemic social activities," according to Jeanne.

The Oregon Health Authority hospitalization tracker reported that fewer than 100 people were in hospitals across the state because of COVID-19-related illness, down from more than 1,000 during the last peak.

"In Oregon, the emergency phases of the COVID-19 response have ended," Jeanne added. "However, the pandemic is not over."