Oregon Covid Surge: Monday Cases Nearly Half Of 4 Previous Days

PORTLAND, OR — Some days the COVID-19 news is just plain bad. Such is what happened Tuesday.

First, health officials continue to sound warnings about the omicron variant spreading throughout the state. While only 13 cases have been officially confirmed, officials say that the actual number is probably much higher. The reason for the delay is a lag in the ability to identify the variant responsible for someone's illness.

Second, the number of new cases reported on Monday was 1,900 across the state. that's more than half the total reported over the four previous days combined.

And while the level of hospitalization has yet to come close to the 1,200 admissions a day predicted in a recent forecast, officials worry that it's only a matter of time.

The Oregon Health Authority reports that the 1,900 new cases bring the state's total to 416,020 since the pandemic began. There were also eight new deaths, bringing the total of Oregonians who have died to 5,631.

There were new cases reported in 35 of the state's 36 counties.

Here's the county by county breakdown of new cases:

Baker (3), Benton (30), Clackamas (136), Clatsop (4), Columbia (7), Coos (95), Crook (23), Curry (9), Deschutes (182), Douglas (22), Gilliam (1), Grant (16), Harney (3), Hood River (13), Jackson (104), Jefferson (8), Josephine (32), Klamath (40), Lake (2), Lane (157), Lincoln (14), Linn (33), Malheur (8), Marion (257), Morrow (5), Multnomah (258), Polk (73), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (79), Union (8), Wallowa (5), Wasco (20), Washington (217), Wheeler (2) and Yamhill (30).