New data released by the Marion County Health & Human Services department shows people have tested positive for COVID-19 across the greater Salem area as of April 24, 2020
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Residents of Stayton, Aumsville, Silverton and every corner of Salem have tested positive for COVID-19, but concentrations of the sick are highest in the Woodburn, Gervais and Sublimity areas.
Data released Thursday by the Marion County Health & Human Services Department gives a better picture of where in the county people testing positive for COVID-19 live. It’s the first time since Oregon’s outbreak began that a government agency has reported data for the Salem area by ZIP code, rather than by county.
The county’s map shows the rate of positive tests per 100,000 people, a standard way of reporting illness statistics in public health. In Woodburn, Gervais and Sublimity, more than 300 out of every 100,000 residents have tested positive for COVID-19. The lowest rate in the county is ZIP code 97306, which includes deep south Salem and Sunnyside. There, only 47 of every 100,000 residents have tested positive.
Salem Reporter used the county’s rates and Census data to calculate the approximate number of people in each part of Marion County who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of April 24.
Within Salem, there’s considerable variation in the rate of residents testing positive for the virus, with higher rates in lower-income areas. Southeast Salem (ZIP code 97317) and far north Salem and the Brooks area (97305) have the highest rates, about 100 people testing positive per 100,00 residents. Central and south Salem ZIP codes are lower.
The data includes all people who have tested positive in Marion County since March 8, when the first resident was confirmed to have COVID-19, so it doesn’t give a good idea of where the virus is currently spreading.
But county health officials said Thursday a spike in people testing positive for COVID-19 last weekend was concentrated in the Woodburn and Gervais area.
Polk County as of Friday had 33 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and one death. The county has not released more detailed geographic information showing the number of people by city or ZIP code, so we can’t report the number of people or rate of positive tests in west Salem.
Here’s other key data showing what’s happening with COVID-19 in Salem.
Marion County now has 417 residents who have tested positive for the virus after a large jump over the past week. Fourteen residents have died from COVID-19.
Salem Hospital has not been overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, though the number of those with confirmed or suspected COVID-like illness has climbed over the past week.
What local data would you like to see? Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
