May 26, 2021 1:40 p.m.

21 more people have received new positive test results for COVID-19 in Douglas County, as of Wednesday, with the highest number of local residents hospitalized for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

An update from the Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team said the total number of cases is now at 3,481. Of those, 3,316 are people that have received positive test results, and 165 are presumptive. There have been 73 deaths.

22 Douglas County COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. The precious single day high was 21 on December 10th, 2020. The update said they are spread all over the state due to the complexity of their illness and the level of care they need. This is putting a definite stress on the medical care community as a whole in Oregon, as there is a surge in cases needing higher level breathing and lung equipment that is becoming scarce to acquire. The update said the majority of local patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are under the age of 60, with several cases who are in their 40s or younger.

186 people are in isolation. 569 people are in quarantine. That means the staff with the Douglas Public Health Network are supporting 755 people that are either in isolation of quarantine. That is an increase of 105 people since Tuesday.

Go to: www.douglaspublichealthnetwork.org for more local information about COVID-19.