<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

93% of Oregon hospital beds full

State reports 838 hospitalized with COVID, a new high

By SARA CLINE, Associated Press/ Report for America
Published: August 17, 2021, 7:55pm

PORTLAND — As Oregon’s health system continues to be clobbered by the state’s worst COVID-19 surge, officials reported on Tuesday that 93 percent of the state’s hospital beds for adults and 90 percent of the intensive care unit beds are full.

There are 838 people people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oregon — surpassing the state’s record, which was set the previous day, by 86 patients. Before this month, the hospitalization record was 622 in November, during a winter surge and when vaccines were not available.

“If you are healthy today, you may not think this impacts you. But when our hospitals are full, all Oregonians are at risk,” Gov. Kate Brown tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. “When our hospitals, emergency departments, and ICUs are full, that means a staffed hospital bed may not be available when you and your family need urgent or intensive care, whether for COVID-19, or a car crash, or a heart attack or stroke.”

As of Tuesday a mere 66 ICU beds and 275 available adult non-ICU beds are available, the Oregon Health Authority reported.

Oregon also set a new daily case record with 2,941 identified coronavirus cases — fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant, which has rapidly spread, especially in Southern Oregon where vaccination rates lag.

“If you are unvaccinated, you are at incredible risk from the Delta variant,” Brown tweeted. “Almost everyone hospitalized for COVID-19 could have avoided severe illness if they had been vaccinated.”

Over the past month Brown has announced measures to decrease the infection rate and hospitalizations and boost vaccinations. Recent measures include requiring that health care workers and state employees be vaccinated.

In addition, on Friday a statewide mask mandate was reimplemented — everyone in Oregon who is 5 years or older, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in indoor public spaces.

Last month, Brown announced that masks would be required regardless of vaccination status in K-12 schools. However, some education leaders have pushed back.

Loading...