Major drop in Covid-19 cases not expected until February
The weather is cooling and people are likely to gather for the holidays, increasing the risk of spreading the coronovirus. Although hospitalizations remain stubbornly high, health experts at Oregon Health & Science University do not expect a serious spike in the next few months. Photo courtesy OHSU.
The number of Oregonians hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached a plateau that will stay above 400 patients a day through the holidays before it drops demonstrably in the new year, according to the latest updated forecast from Oregon Health & Science University.
The forecast shows that hospitalizations won’t drop below 200 until the beginning of February – about a month longer than last week's forecast.
The updated figures reflects survey data revealing that Oregonians are tiring of measures to reduce transmission, such as gathering indoors with people who don’t live in their households.
The highly contagious coronavirus delta variant continues to find a substantial pool of Oregonians – an estimated one in five – who aren’t yet immune through vaccination or recent infection, health officials said.
Although hospitalizations will remain stubbornly high for the next several weeks, the latest projection does not anticipate an increase.