This week, there was a decrease in new Covid cases and test positivity rates across the state and in the Salem area.
HOSPITAL CAPACITY
As of Friday, Nov. 4, Salem Hospital had 13 inpatients with Covid. Of those, two were in the ICU and none were on a ventilator.
359 of the 415 adult acute and critical care beds were in use, or 87%.
433 total hospital beds were in use on Friday. The hospital recently expanded its licensed bed capacity from 494 to 644 with the addition of a new tower, but that total includes every potential licensed bed at Salem Hospital including those dedicated to specific uses, like pediatrics, inpatient psychiatry, and labor and delivery.
The daily number of hospitalized Covid patients has ranged between 13 and 17 patients over the past week, according to Lisa Wood, Salem Health spokeswoman. Last week, she said the number ranged between 12 and 16.
Region 2, which is Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, had 26 people hospitalized with Covid as of Nov. 2, compared with 29 the week prior and 24 two weeks ago.
CASES
In the week ending Nov 2, the average daily number of new Covid cases reported decreased statewide and in Marion County and stayed the same in Polk County compared to the week prior.
Marion County: 21 new Covid cases per day on average, a rate of 43.2 cases per 100,000 residents.
That’s down from 23 average daily cases last week and 50 the week before.
5% of Covid tests this week were positive, down from 5.2% last week
The Oregon Health Authority reported no newly identified deaths of county residents with Covid in the past week. It reported four the week prior.
Polk County: Seven new Covid cases per day on average, a rate of 54 cases per 100,000 residents.
That matches last week’s average of 7 daily cases, down from 9 the week before.
6.8% of Covid tests this week were positive, a decrease from 7.9% last week.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 2 newly identified deaths of county residents with Covid in the past week.
Oregon: 360 new cases per day on average, down from 398 average daily cases last week; 6.9% of tests were positive, compared with 6.6% last week.
VACCINATION AND BREAKTHROUGH CASES
The Oregon Health Authority switched to a new data dashboard showing trends in cases, hospitalizations and deaths by vaccination status, updated on the second Wednesday of each month. The data will next be updated later this month.
MANDATES
Oregon’s mask mandate lifted on March 11 at 11:59 p.m.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-704-0355.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
