As of Thursday, April 15, Linn County had 4,095 reported COVID cases and 63 deaths.
The most recent fatality reported was a 73-year-old man who tested positive on Feb. 22 and died on March 21 at his residence in the county. He had underlying conditions.
Linn County moved back into the “High” risk category on Friday, April 9, after the county’s numbers of new reported COVID cases exceeded 100 per 100,000 population over the two-week period that ended Sunday, April 4. The next numbers check was due shortly after Lebanon Local went to press.
“Extreme” Risk begins when the number of new reported COVID cases exceeds 200 per 100,000. “Moderate” Risk is a case rate of 50 to 100 per 100,000 and “Lower” Risk is below 50 cases per 100,000 population. County risk categories are adjusted every two weeks.
Linn County Board Chairman Roger Nyquist said the number of positive COVID-19 cases has increased due to people traveling outside of the immediate area and increased social gatherings.
“We have not found increased cases linked to Linn County businesses or the resumption of in-person classes in area schools,” he said. “The number of positive cases as a percentage of total number of people tested remains below 5%, which is a good sign.”
Nyquist added that hospitalizations in the region remain low and the number of vaccinations per week continue to increase.
“We encourage people to wear masks in accordance with state guidelines,” Nyquist said. “We also ask them to consider their group activities and interactions in general, per Centers for Disease Control guidelines.”
Nyquist said the uptick in positive cases is concerning, but county officials are also optimistic that in coming weeks, as more Linn County residents are vaccinated, the number of positive cases will drop.
Linn County joined Benton County, as well as Clackamas, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lincoln, Marion, Multnomah and Tillamook in the “High” risk category.
No counties are in the “Extreme” risk category; 16 are in the “Lower” risk category, which Linn County has not yet reached, and six are in the “Moderate” category.
Linn County holds COVID vaccination clinics frequently at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, but scheduling is dependent on the availability of vaccines. For updated information, visit www.linncountyhealth.org/ph/page/covid-19-vaccines-information.
Linn County Public Health and its volunteers have provided more than 35,000 vaccinations.
As of Friday, 2.16 million Oregonians have received vaccinations, and of those 845,000 are fully vaccinated.
Statewide, there have been 168,795 COVID-19 cases and 2,450 deaths. Linn County has had 3,965 cases and 61 deaths and Benton County has had 2,632 cases and 18 deaths.
For more information and to register for a vaccination, visit the Linn County Public Health Department website at https://www.linncountyhealth.org/.
To get a vaccination through Samaritan Health, visit www.samhealth.org/getthevaccine#anchor-7FE7AC2F-46A7-4EEB-8C5F-5FA128388824-a6d1b5c9-234b-4594-a04a-6e663644545f .