Oregon’s virus cases to 4,000, OHA investigating spike

Oregon’s COVID-19 cases hit a new milestone on Wednesday with the Oregon Health Authority reporting more than 4,000 residents have tested positive.

Wednesday’s report showed 71 new cases statewide, bringing Oregon’s total to 4,038. Nearly 117,000 people in the state have been tested for the virus.

The Oregon Health Authority announced that it was investigating the spike in cases as it relates to an outbreak at “specific locations of a business that operates in the tri-county region and the Willamette Valley.”

No further information about the outbreak was made public but OHA said in a statement that it expects the state’s case total to continue increasing over the next few days as test results from the outbreak are completed.

No new deaths were reported in the state on Wednesday, marking the third day in a row without a fatality.

Linn and Benton counties did not add to their totals from Tuesday. Linn County has 115 cases and nine deaths while Benton County is still reporting 55 cases and five deaths.

The jump in cases follow a drop in reported cases statewide. On Tuesday, only 18 new cases were reported with an additional presumptive case and a weekly report released on Sunday showed an 8% increase in cases over the previous seven-day span. That continued a downward trend in the caseload after a 12% increase was reported May 11-17.