A screenshot of Oregon Health Authority’s latest indicators for county coronavirus response as of July 15, 2020.
The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly in the Salem area, with more residents diagnosed and a greater share of tests coming back positive over the past week.
Marion and Polk counties both reported an increase in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus in a weekly update from Oregon Health Authority on July 16. Between the two counties, 8% of tests came back positive in the past week, a climb from the prior week.
Marion County also saw an acceleration in new diagnoses, with 293 new cases in the past week. That’s up from 175 new cases last week.
Polk County saw a slight decrease in the number of new cases, with 22 reported in the past week.
Since the outbreak began in March, Marion County has tallied 2,063 residents known to have the virus, with 239 hospitalizations and 57 deaths. Polk County has reported a total of 193 cases and 12 deaths.
Hospitalizations related to the virus also rose in Polk County and decreased slightly in Marion County, leading the health authority to report no change for the greater Salem area as a whole.
Marion County health workers are keeping pace with the new cases, metrics show. They traced 75% of new cases to someone else known to have the virus, compared to about 50% statewide. Health workers also followed up on 99% of new cases within a day.
Polk County is still struggling to meet both metrics, with two-thirds of new cases not traced to a known source.
More detailed current data for Marion County is below.
(Graphic by Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
(Graphic by Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
(Graphic by Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter)
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Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
