March 9, 2022 2:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, Douglas County government released the final edition of the COVID-19 Weekly Update.

It has been 731 days since the 1st COVID-19 case was identified in the county, just over 2 years ago.

The release said the decision to end the updates comes on the heels of the last variant surge, a definitive decline in cases locally, regionally and nationally, as well as the announcement that the State of Oregon is lifting the mask mandate for indoor settings and schools, effective Saturday.

4 more people have died related to COVID-19 in Douglas County, 107 more people have received new positive test results, and 5 more are presumptive, as of Wednesday.

The Update said the total number of cases of COVID-19 in the county stands at 19,563. Of those, 18,658 are people that have received positive test results, and 905 are presumptive.

Newly reported deaths include a 65-year old woman and a 46-year old woman. Delayed deaths include a 79-year old man and an 86-year old woman. 2 were not vaccinated, 1 was vaccinated but not up to date, and 1 was fully vaccinated and up to date. 372 county residents have died related to COVID-19 during the pandemic.

16 Douglas County COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, 15 locally and 1 outside the area. In the last week CHI Mercy Medical Center averaged 1 COVID-19 positive patient a day in the Intensive Care Unit and 1 in the Progressive Care Unit. 11 of the 16 hospitalized patients are not fully vaccinated.

Go to www.douglaspublichealth.org for more local information on COVID-19.

Future updates on COVID-19 will be issued on weekdays by the Oregon Health Authority at: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/erd/pages/covid-19-news.aspx