GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Josephine County Public Health on Thursday announced two more deaths attributed to coronavirus, bringing the local death toll to 22 since the pandemic began.
According to the agency, a 51-year-old woman tested positive for COVID-19 on December 9 and died on December 23 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass. She had underlying conditions.
A 72-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19 on December 10 and died on December 23 at Asante Three Rivers. He also had underlying health conditions.
Josephine County Public Health has ceased daily updates on new coronavirus cases over the past several weeks, due in large part the increase in cases early this month which put increasing pressure on contact tracing efforts for public health staff. Instead, the agency has taken to publishing weekly reports.
Between December 20 and 26, officials counted 148 new cases of the virus — marking a case rate of 347 cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate of 7.92 percent.
The agency reported 28 active outbreaks — defined by OHA as two or more cases in 14 days that share an "epilink," a place or person that cases have in common.
