UPDATE (6:45 p.m. PT) — The Oregon Employment Department announced Tuesday the state has already recovered nearly one-third of the more than 121,550 jobs lost during March and April amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
All told, the state recovered more than 77,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May and June. That helped the state unemployment rate dip more than three percentage points last month, down to 11.2%.
Read OPB reporter Meerah Powell's reporting to find out which sectors recovered the most jobs in May and June.
Oregon reports 380 new COVID-19 diagnoses, 7 deaths
The Oregon Health Authority announced Tuesday 380 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 diagnoses in the state, and seven additional deaths due to the virus. With those cases and deaths, Oregon's pandemic has now reached 12,805 positive cases and claimed the lives of 244 people.
The highest case numbers originated in counties with known outbreaks and community spread, including over 100 cases across two rural counties in eastern Oregon: 76 new cases in Umatilla County, and 35 cases in Malheur County. Oregon's most populous county, Multnomah, continues to have significant numbers of new cases, with 76 reported Tuesday.
Related: COVID-19 In Oregon: By The Numbers
More than half of the seven deaths reported were in two Oregon counties with known coronavirus challenges: Lincoln County, where a large outbreak occurred at a seafood facility, two people died in the last few days. Marion County has had among the highest COVID-19 case numbers in the state, and over the last few days, it also had two people died from the virus. All seven deaths involved people who were at least 70 years old, with underlying health conditions.
Oregon COVID-19 Map
Jacob Fenton, The Accountability Project at the Investigative Reporting Workshop
Washington warns of reopening challenges
At a press conference Tuesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee warned that if coronavirus numbers continue to climb, counties won't be able to reopen and tighter rules may have to be imposed.
"This is a very dangerous position we’re in," Inslee told reporters Tuesday.
The Washington Department of Health counts 42,304 people as diagnosed with coronavirus in the state Tuesday afternoon, and 1,404 deaths. The virus was responsible for the hospitalization of 4,788 people in Washington, according to the health department's latest information.
State health officials said the rise in cases is driven by the social behavior of younger people.
"The situation we are in is unsustainable," Inslee said. "We will have to reduce the rise that is occurring now in the case counts and positivity and hospitalization, we have to find somewhere to break that chain of looming disaster."
Inslee suggested the reopening of schools in the fall was also at risk. He has already told counties that further steps toward relaxing rules won't occur before July 28.
