COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Marion County, statewide

Mike Stucka
·4 min read
Medical staff with Salem Health work to test patients for COVID-19 at Salem Health Lab on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022 in Salem, Ore.

New coronavirus cases continued to increase in Oregon in the week ending Sunday, rising 39.7% as 53,691 cases were reported. The previous week had 38,437 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Oregon ranked 40th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest 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 increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 1.27% of the country's population, Oregon had 0.99% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

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Last week's numbers may have actually been even higher.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Marion County reported 4,388 cases and nine deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 2,873 cases and seven deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 49,387 cases and 563 deaths.

Polk County reported 1,050 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 744 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 10,651 cases and 112 deaths.

Within Oregon, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Deschutes County with 2,224 cases per 100,000 per week; Jefferson County with 2,133; and Benton County with 1,843. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Multnomah County, with 10,721 cases; Washington County, with 8,736 cases; and Clackamas County, with 5,253. Weekly case counts rose in 33 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Multnomah, Washington and Marion counties.

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Oregon ranked 20th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 74.7% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows.

In the week ending Wednesday, Oregon reported administering another 120,130 vaccine doses, including 21,581 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 40,096 vaccine doses, including 8,794 first doses. In all, Oregon reported it has administered 6,991,922 total doses.

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Across Oregon, cases fell in three counties, with the best declines in Gilliam County, with eight cases from 17 a week earlier; in Grant County, with 54 cases from 57; and in Harney County, with 13 cases from 16.

In Oregon, 122 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 106 people were reported dead.

A total of 513,391 people in Oregon have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 5,883 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States, 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Oregon hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 1,395

  • The week before that: 1,180

  • Four weeks ago: 693

Likely COVID-19 patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221

  • The week before that: 185,954

  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Marion County, statewide