Over 300 more coronavirus cases in Oregon, 8 more deaths

The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday announced 304 more COVID-19 cases and eight additional fatalities.

At least 66 Oregonians have died since July 12, an amount that has already surpassed Oregon’s deadliest three-week stretch from late March into April, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

The news outlet is tracking coronavirus deaths by week, using the date of death instead of the date the death was reported by the health authority. More than half of the recent deaths have been concentrated among residents from Multnomah, Marion and Umatilla counties. The average age of residents across all of Oregon who died during that span has been 77.

Oregon’s case counts had been steadily increasing since late May and now stand at a daily average of about 333 confirmed or presumed infections over the past week. They’ve roughly plateaued since July 20.

A near-record number of Oregonians are currently hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the full extent of fatalities from the state’s weeks-long case surge may not become fully clear until mid-August.