COVID-19 on the rise in Benton County | Govt-and-politics | gazettetimes.com – Corvallis Gazette-Times

Speaking at the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, May 3, Benton County Public Health Administrator April Holland said the county has ascended to the medium category for community COVID-19 levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Our reported cases are high,” Holland said. “Really high.”

For the week starting April 24, Benton County’s total reported COVID-19 cases reached 253, the highest seen since the second week of February, Holland said, making the case rate 268 per 100,000. She said the new, much smaller case wave is attributed to new omicron sub-variants.

“Benton County’s rates of reported cases are surpassed only by Multnomah County, where the rate is 287 per 100,000,” she said.

Looking for answers to the question why, Holland said a couple things come to mind: One is testing rates. Holland said Benton County is again second only to Multnomah County when it comes to the testing rate.

Holland said as testing leans more toward rapid test kits or not testing at all, there will be big variations in reported case rates. She said those counties that are testing more can be looked at as bellwethers for the pandemic. She also said that while hospitalizations have increased, they remain below critical levels.

The Oregon Health Authority, which no longer provides daily media updates with county-by-county breakdowns, does update statewide figures. As of Monday, May 2, there were 183 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Oregon, 36 of them in intensive care units. 

Hospitalization figures tend to trail case counts. OHA says the current positivity rate statewide is 11.2%. There are currently 1,841 coronavirus-positive cases, far higher than the seven-day average, which is 1,098.

“We recommend everyone to slow down, assess their activities, and consider some additional protective measures at this time of increased transmission,” Holland said, recommending being up to date on recommended vaccination and spending time in spaces with good ventilation or air filtration.

Although mask mandates have fallen by the wayside, Holland said with community transmission increasing, many people may choose to wear high-quality, well-fitting masks such as KN-95s, N-95s, or KF-94s, particularly those who are immune-comprised, have high-risk medical conditions, are unvaccinated or not up to date on vaccination and boosters.

“More time spent unmasked in indoor places equals more risk,” she said.