Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. (Beth Nakamura/Staff)
Oregon hasn’t seen a coronavirus resurgence in the weeks since most counties began to slowly reopen, the state’s top health official said Wednesday.
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen offered declining hospitalizations and infection rates as evidence that the spread of COVID-19 remains mild, even as new reported cases climbed slightly in recent days.
He also credited Oregonians for taking steps to reduce their risk of infection, such as wearing face coverings in public and continuing to practice social distancing.
“I think it’s safe to say our situation is stable,” Allen said during a news conference with Gov. Kate Brown. “As stores, salons and restaurants have reopened across the state, COVID-19 has not reemerged with renewed ferocity.”
The official assessment comes as other states around the U.S. — such as Texas, North Carolina and Wisconsin — have seen steady increases in coronavirus infections and deaths after lifting lockdowns imposed at the beginning of the outbreak.
That has yet to occur in Oregon after Brown allowed most counties to gradually resume public and economic activity on May 15. Twenty-six counties have applied to enter Phase 2 of the state’s reopening regimen starting Friday, which further eases restrictions.
Throughout the pandemic, Oregon has had one of the lowest infection and death rates in the country among known cases. While nearly 4,400 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since late February, recent projections estimate more than 20,000 — almost five times the number of identified cases — have been infected.
According to Allen, the number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections statewide fell from 161 to 102 in the last two weeks. It was over 300 in mid-