For the second consecutive day, Oregon has reported the death of a person younger than 40 due to the coronavirus.
A 37-year-old Washington County woman with underlying medical conditions died of the virus at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, the Oregon Health Authority said Saturday. That news comes a day after the state agency announced the death of a 29-year-old Multnomah County man with no underlying medical conditions at OHSU hospital.
In keeping with a policy of protecting private health information, the state provided few details on either death, other than to say the 29-year-old tested positive on Aug. 22 and died the same day, and the 37-year-old tested positive on Aug. 10 and died Aug. 15.
The Oregon Health Authority also announced details of six other deaths Saturday, bringing the confirmed COVID-19 death toll in Oregon to 454. All had underlying medical conditions:
- A 59-year-old Multnomah County woman who died at her home.
- A 66-year-old Multnomah County man who died at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.
- A 68-year-old Multnomah County woman who died at her home.
- A 69-year-old Washington County man who died at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
- A 78-year-old Clackamas County man who died at his home. He died in July, but was only confirmed as a COVID-19 fatality as of this week.
- An 86-year-old Lane County man who died at his home.
State health officials also reported 252 COVID-19 diagnoses Saturday, bringing total confirmed and presumptive cases in the state to 26,293 since the start of the pandemic.
At a press briefing Thursday, officials with the Oregon Health Authority said coronavirus diagnoses, hospitalizations and deaths have gradually declined over the past three weeks, although not at the pace necessary to reopen schools in most of the state.
Two counties removed from Oregon’s COVID-19 watch list
Oregon’s most populous county was removed from the state’s COVID-19 watch list Friday, and local leaders in Multnomah County reacted to the news by turning their attention to the steps necessary for them to reopen schools. Hood River County was also removed from the watch list, which documents the counties with the broadest spread of the coronavirus and acts as a guide to state resources and monitoring.
“I want to applaud county officials and community members in Hood River and Multnomah Counties for their efforts in curbing community spread of COVID-19,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a written statement announcing the move.
Officials in Multnomah County said they are now focused on reducing the overall case count to fewer than 30 cases per 100,000 residents, which would allow local schools to resume classes for students in kindergarten through third grade. As of the last tally, Multnomah County had 41 cases per 100,000.
Related: Multnomah County leaves state’s COVID-19 watch list, prioritizes meeting school reopening goals
Oregon qualifies for $300 weekly unemployment benefits bonus
Unemployed Oregonians will be able to get $300 more per week as part of a federal program created by executive order of President Donald Trump. Officials at the Oregon Employment Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Friday evening that Oregon has been approved for the Lost Wages Assistance program, a fund that promises $44 billion to help the nation’s unemployed after an earlier pandemic assistance program’s funding expired.
Oregon officials have tried to temper expectations regarding how long the funding will last. Oregon Employment Department Director David Gerstenfeld said the federal funding is projected to cover three to five weeks of $300 payments for thousands of out-of-work Oregonians, possibly a little further. But because the money is coming from a disaster relief fund, it could disappear quickly if natural disasters, such as hurricanes, draw down the fund.
Related: FEMA approves Oregon request for $300 weekly unemployment assistance
Clark County, Washington, reports no deaths Friday
Another 32 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Clark County, Washington, the local public health department reported Friday. To date, 2,534 residents of Clark County have tested positive for the virus and 49 have died.
Since the start of the pandemic, 73,301 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Washington, and 1,905 have died, according to the latest count available from the state.
