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The Oregon Health Authority today reported 146 new cases of COVID-19, the highest one-day total since the pandemic began and the first time the state has reported more than 100 new cases in a day.
The new number includes a large workplace outbreak, OHA said: 61 cases at a Pacific Seafood processing plant in Lincoln County. (That brings the number of cases linked to that facility to 65.)
State officials had warned Oregonians that the case count would probably go up as the state gradually reopened for business and testing increased.
OHA alluded to those factors in a statement accompanying today's count. "The high number is tied to several factors, including more widespread testing, increased contact tracing and active monitoring of close contacts of cases," the agency said. "Workplace outbreaks are another source of the high number."
As WW reported earlier this week, Oregon has one of the lowest testing rates in the country, but it also has one of the lowest infection rates. In other words, we are testing fewer people per capita than nearly any other state but of those who do get tested, a very low percentage actually have COVID-19.
Every Oregon county except Multnomah has begun the reopening processs, with about two dozen of the 36 counties having moved into Phase 2, which allows larger gatherings, restaurants and bars to stay open until midnight, and other relaxations of Gov. Kate Brown's stay-home order. Multnomah County applied on June 5 for approval to begin reopening June 12.