September 17, 2020 10:20 a.m. 

On Wednesday, the Oregon Health Authority’s weekly report showed that new cases of COVID-19 in the state have continued to decline.

The report said 1,294 cases were recorded between September 7th and 13th. That is down 12 percent from the previous week’s tally of 1,477. The report said in that same period, the number of Oregonians newly tested declined 35 percent to 17,365. The percentage of tests that were positive rose from 4.3 percent to 5,6 percent. The decline in the number of people being tested occurred while numerous wildfires were burning in the state. The report said OHA is closely monitoring the situation.

29 Oregonians were reported to have died last week in association with COVID-19, compared to 23 the week before. 83 residents were hospitalized, with only 47 hospitalized the previous week. The reported number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is the lowest for any two-week period since mid-June.

A link to the latest report is posted with our story at www.541radio.com: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/DISEASESAZ/Emerging%20Respitory%20Infections/COVID-19-Weekly-Report-2020-09-16-FINAL.pdf