PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) — More than half the patients hospitalized as of Tuesday at CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, Oregon, have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.
The hospitalizations come as Umatilla County reports about 8% of the state’s total cases over the past two weeks despite accounting for just 2% of its population, the East Oregonian reported. The county’s case rate during that time period was more than seven times higher than Oregon’s highly-populated Multnomah and Washington counties.
Umatilla County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Oregon, with fewer than 40% of residents fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Oregon Health Authority reported this week that hospitalizations statewide spiked to the highest totals since April with 259, up 52 since Monday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Oregon Health Authority webpage monitoring hospital bed capacity showed that of the three hospital regions east of the Cascades, there were only eight intensive care unit beds available out of 81.