As COVID-19 hospitalizations jump and Oregon reports 580 new cases, governor loosens restrictions on indoor sports

Oregon governor Kate Brown fist-bumps Portland Public Schools superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero in front of a set of stairs.  Both are wearing masks.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown fist-bumps Portland Public Schools superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero on April 1, 2021, the first day of a return to in-person learning for the youngest elementary school students.The Oregonian

State officials announced Tuesday that despite a fourth surge and swiftly increasing numbers of patients hospitalized because of COVID-19, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will ease restrictions by allowing “indoor full-contact sports” to restart by the end of the week.

The governor’s office and the Oregon Health Authority said the move is in recognition of “the importance of athletics for the physical and mental health of Oregon’s youth athletes,” although the loosened restrictions apply to adults and youth alike.

Low-contact indoor sports already were permitted, but the new rules for the first time since last spring will allow Oregonians of all ages to engage in indoor basketball, cheerleading, wrestling and water polo, among other sports, according to the health authority.

The move continues the governor’s recent pattern of reopening the economy or allowing it to stay open despite previously established metrics on when to begin shutting down gyms, movie theaters and indoor dining at restaurants and bars. Brown’s relaxed restrictions come just as cases have been ballooning, with 580 new known COVID-19 and one new death reported Tuesday. Over the past month, new daily cases have increased about 150%, including 55% in the past two weeks.

That’s at a much faster clip than the national average, with new cases rising in the United States 4% in the past two weeks.

The number of hospitalized patients in Oregon also has jumped from 106 people a month ago to 255 Tuesday, roughly a 140% increase. In the past two weeks, Oregon’s number of COVID-19 patients have grown by 49%, compared with the national average of 10%.

The governor has said she will allow tougher restrictions to kick in in the hardest hit counties when Oregon’s hospitalized patients reach 300 and if the seven-day average has increased by 15% or more in the previous week. A forecast by Oregon Health & Science University last week predicts that its current rate of viral spread, Oregon will reach that 300-patient threshold by mid-May.

The health authority reported 12 new admissions Tuesday.

County risk levels: The governor has instituted restrictions based on the level of infections in each county, under the designations “lower risk,” “moderate risk,” “high risk” and “extreme risk.”

Brown announces changes to risk levels every two weeks. On Tuesday, she said that effective on Friday, 23 counties will be designated “high risk” instead of the 14 counties that previously had been deemed as such.

Three counties will be “moderate risk” as of Friday, instead of the six that have been. Ten counties will be “lower risk,” compared to the 16 that have been deemed as such in the last round.

Brown said earlier this month that no county would be deemed “extreme risk” and experience the toughest public health measures -- including prohibitions on indoor dining at restaurants and bars -- until hospitalizations reached 300 patients with a 15% increase in the seven-day average in the previous week.

If Brown hadn’t raised that threshold, 11 counties on Friday would enter “extreme risk” -- and be forced to close indoor dining, among other required safety measures. Those 11 counties would have been Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Linn, Marion and Polk.

Restrictions on counties are listed here.

Vaccines: Oregon on Tuesday reported 26,051 new COVID-19 vaccine doses have made it into arms. The seven-day running average is 34,935 doses per day. As of Tuesday, 571,152 people have received one-dose of the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna regimens, and 1,044,211 additional people have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose shot. States across the country, including Oregon, put Johnson & Johnson’s rollout on pause last week as experts study it for blood clot risks.

Wasted doses: Oregon reported a total of 992 doses discarded because they spoiled or expired. That’s up 175 doses since the state’s last report a week ago.

Where the new cases are by county: Benton (20), Clackamas (47), Clatsop (1), Columbia (3), Coos (6), Crook (11), Curry (4), Deschutes (42), Douglas (8), Gilliam (1), Grant (8), Harney (7), Hood River (3), Jackson (47), Jefferson (1), Josephine (12), Klamath (47), Lake (1), Lane (67), Linn (13), Malheur (2), Marion (21), Morrow (2), Multnomah (86), Polk (7), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (15), Union (2), Wallow (1), Wasco (3), Washington (81), Wheeler (1) and Yamhill (9).

Deaths: Oregon has recorded 2,460 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. That accounts for one new death -- of a Sherman County man, 82, who tested positive on Jan. 11 and died Jan. 27 at Yuma Regional Medical Center in Yuma, Arizona. It’s unknown if he had underlying conditions.

The death toll previously stood at 2,460, but on Tuesday the Oregon Health Authority said it had mistakenly reported on April 7 that a 48-year-old man from Union County had died when he had not. The health authority didn’t provide information on how this mistake was made.

The average daily number of deaths has dropped from about seven people two weeks ago to about two now. That’s roughly a 70% decrease, compared to a 5% decrease over the same period across the U.S. But officials say deaths are a lagging indicator of coronavirus levels in the community -- and if cases and hospitalizations rise, more deaths often follow weeks later.

Hospitalized patients: The state reported 255 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, up 12 from Monday. There were 58 patients in intensive care, an increase of one from the previous day.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 176,157 coronavirus cases -- either presumed or confirmed -- and 2,460 deaths.

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-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

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