Oregon coronavirus update, July 30: OHA reports 5 new deaths, 416 new cases

Salem Statesman Journal

To provide our community with important public safety information, our newsroom is making this daily update related to the coronavirus free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.

We'll update this story throughout the day with the latest news about coronavirus and its effects in Oregon and across the nation on Thursday, July 30.

OHA reports 5 new COVID-19 deaths, 416 more cases

Oregon Health Authority officials announced five new deaths Thursday related to COVID-19, raising the state’s death toll to 316.

OHA reported 416 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, including 32 in Marion County. The state's total number has climbed to 18,131.

The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (3), Benton (7), Clackamas (22), Clatsop (2), Columbia (3), Coos (4), Crook (2), Deschutes (15), Douglas (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (10), Jefferson (12), Klamath (1), Lake (1), Lane (10), Lincoln (2), Linn (4), Malheur (18), Marion (38), Morrow (9), Multnomah (61), Polk (7), Umatilla (101), Union (1), Wasco (2), Washington (63), and Yamhill (11).

Umatilla’s case counts appear to be very high due to a delay in processing their electronic laboratory reports, health officials said.

The OHA weekly report initially and incorrectly reported an increase in cases for the week of Monday, July 20 through Sunday, July 26 over the previous week, officials said. Cases actually declined to 2,241 from 2,409, a drop of about 7 percent.

Oregon’s 312th COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on July 10 and died on July 28, at Good Samaritan Health Care Center in Yakima,

Oregon’s 313th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on July 15 and died on July 27, at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 314th COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman in Umatilla County who tested positive on July 10 and died on July 28, at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, WA.

Oregon’s 315th COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on July 18 and died on July 26, at Portland Adventist Medical Center.

Oregon’s 316th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on July 4 and died on July 23, at Providence Portland Medical Center.

All of the patients had underlying health conditions.

COVID-19 by the numbers in Oregon

Here's the most recent data from OHA, as of Thursday, July 30.

311: Deaths from COVID-19
18,131: Total cases
229: People hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19
30: Patients placed on ventilators
380,508: Tests that were negative
397,705: Total number of tests given, since Jan. 24

Grants still available for small businesses

Small businesses overlooked by economic relief opportunities provided by the CARES Act can now apply for grants from the state via a program administered by a coalition of credit unions.

A combined $5 million from the state general fund allocated by the Oregon Legislature and $5 million redirected from Business Oregon programs has been made available to businesses with 25 or fewer employees impacted by the pandemic.

Businesses meeting the criteria can apply at one of four credit unions —including Consolidated Community, Trailhead, Point West and Central Willamette — for grants ranging from $2,500 to $12,500.

Does your business qualify? View the COVID-19 Emergency Business Grant Application (PDF)

"With over 260,000 sole proprietors in the state, ensuring they have support through COVID-19 is critical to Oregon’s economic outlook," said Stacie Wyss-Schoenborn, head of the Central Willamette Credit Union. "These types of businesses are very small, so grant funds are impactful and sustaining."

Officials say there's still $1.5 million in funding available but it must be distributed by August 17.

The participating credit unions will accept applications from eligible businesses headquartered in the following counties:

Central Willamette, 541-928-4536: Benton, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Linn, Marion
Point West, 503-546-5000: Clackamas, Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine, Lincoln, Multnomah, Washington
Trailhead, 503-220-2592: Deschutes, Multnomah
Consolidated, 503-797-7561: Baker, Clackamas, Gilliam, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Multnomah, Umatilla, Washington, Wheeler

Oregon COVID-19 cases by county

Here are the number of cases, both tested positive and presumptive, and deaths as of Thursday, July 30:

Baker: 25 cases
Benton: 148 cases, 6 deaths
Clackamas: 1,339 cases, 36 deaths
Clatsop: 73 cases
Columbia: 73 cases
Coos: 84 cases
Crook: 40 cases, 1 death
Curry: 14 cases
Deschutes: 509 cases, 5 deaths
Douglas: 123 cases, 1 death
Gilliam: 3 cases
Grant: 2 cases
Harney: 8 cases
Hood River: 162 cases
Jackson: 335 cases, 1 death
Jefferson: 293 cases, 3 deaths
Josephine: 98 cases, 1 death
Klamath: 185 cases, 1 death
Lake: 32 cases
Lane: 484 cases, 3 deaths
Lincoln: 385 cases, 8 deaths
Linn: 233 cases, 10 deaths
Malheur: 634 cases, 9 deaths
Marion: 2,533 cases, 67 deaths
Morrow: 271 cases, 2 deaths
Multnomah: 4,260 cases, 90 deaths
Polk: 276 cases, 12 deaths
Sherman: 8 cases
Tillamook: 24 cases
Umatilla: 1,902 cases, 22 deaths
Union: 386 cases, 2 deaths
Wallowa: 19 cases, 1 death
Wasco: 152 cases, 3 deaths
Washington: 2,700 cases, 22 deaths
Wheeler: 0 cases
Yamhill: 318 cases, 10 deaths

Source: Oregon Health Authority

FDA opens door to rapid, at-home testing for COVID-19

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday opened the door to COVID-19 testing that could be fast, cheap, and handled entirely at home — if companies don't find the rules too burdensome.

Routine screening of people who don't know they have COVID-19 could transform the fight against the disease.

"These types of tests will be a game-changer in our fight against COVID-19 and will be crucial as the nation looks toward reopening," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a statement announcing how the agency will approve at-home tests.

So far, the FDA hasn't allowed anyone to sell tests for at-home use.

Lab tests to detect the coronavirus are accurate, but they're often restricted to people who have COVID-19 symptoms. It often takes days to get results — by which point the person may have already infected others.

Other tests are fast, but so expensive they're unlikely to be used regularly. A clinic in Massachusetts, for example, charges $160 per rapid test; it's not covered by insurance.

With COVID-19, people are most contagious in the few days before they develop symptoms and as symptoms first develop.

Screening at home, maybe once or twice a week, would allow people to test themselves before going to work or school, getting on an airplane, attending an event, or visiting an elderly relative. Letting people know they are infectious in real-time would enable them to self-quarantine, and it would allow others to go about day-to-day life without risk of infecting others.

-- Karen Weintraub and Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY

Heart damage found in coronavirus patients months after recovering

New evidence suggests the coronavirus has lasting impacts on the heart, raising alarm to cardiologists who have been concerned about potential COVID-19 long-term heart injury.

Two German studies, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Cardiology, found heart abnormalities in COVID-19 patients months after they had already recovered from the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

The first study included 100 patients from the University of Hospital Frankfurt COVID-19 Registry who were relatively healthy adults in their 40s and 50s. About one-third of the patients required hospitalization while the rest recovered from home.

Researchers looked at cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) taken nearly two and a half months after they were diagnosed and compared them with images from people who never had COVID-19. The study found heart abnormalities in 78 patients, with 60 of those patients showing signs of inflammation in the heart muscle from the virus.

-- Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY