Wallowa County had four more new cases of COVID-19, the Oregon Health Authority reported on Tuesday, Aug. 17, including the 300th case in the county since the start of the pandemic. The county is now at 301 cases.

The county numbers, though, felt relatively tame compared to the rest of Oregon, which had another 2,941 cases, though the OHA said some of the cases were over the weekend. There were also 15 more deaths attributed to the virus. 

Oregon hospitals are also filling at a rapid pace. The state reported a record 838 current hospitalizations due to COVID-19, and noted that there are only 66 ICU beds and 275 non-ICU beds available statewide out of nearly 4,800 hospital beds in Oregon. Currently, nearly 19% of those in an Oregon hospital have COVID-19. 

In Wallowa County, the case count has continued to increase at a rate higher than at any other time in the pandemic. Tuesday’s reported means there have been 101 cases reported in the last 29 days, as the county reached 200 total on July 19. 

For a comparison, it took 9-1/2 months for the county to go from 1 to 100 cases, and just under sixth months to go from 100 to 200. 

The county’s 250th case was reported less than two weeks ago on Aug. 5.

The vaccination rate of the entire population of Wallowa County inched up to 50.1%, while the rate of those 18 and older stayed at 59.9%. The state rate for all residents is 59.9%, and the rate for those 18 and older is 70.5%.