Multnomah County registers 715 COVID cases in two days

Multnomah County recorded 715 new COVID-19 infections during Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to figures released today by the Oregon Health Authority.

The two-day total is not a record for Oregon’s most populous county, but it does match a pattern of increasing spread of the novel coronavirus in the Portland area this month. Multnomah County recorded its highest number of new cases the week of November 15 – 2,280 – and is on track to meet or exceed that total this week.

Most of the holiday cases were reported on Friday, but that’s a technicality: the county health services were closed for Thanksgiving, so they only reported new positive tests the next day.

It remains unclear whether the two-week “freeze” ordered by Governor Kate Brown verified the spread of the virus. The incidence rate of COVID cases in Multnomah County skyrocketed to 467 people per 100,000 population in the two-week period starting November 8 (this was triple the rate in mid-October: 138 cases per 100,000 people.) Data for the period from November 22 is incomplete.

Multnomah County President Deborah Kafoury warned residents this week to expect a precarious situation.

“I know the people of Multnomah County are looking for clarity and certainty,” Kafoury said in a Nov. 27 statement. “Sadly, we are going to be in this crisis for the foreseeable future. We are constantly weighing our options as we focus on what is best for the health and well-being of our community.

Hospitals remain crowded with COVID-19 patients. 312 people were hospitalized with COVID in the region that includes Portland on Friday. Sixty were in intensive care beds; 34 were on ventilators.

In the same region, including Portland, 1,707 non-ICU hospital beds are occupied and 175 remain available. This means that only 1 in 10 hospital beds remain free.