Oregon Health Authority Official Admits Covid Numbers Not 100% Correct; Says OHA Changing System In Coming Months For More Accuracy

Portland, Ore. – The official covid-19 numbers in Oregon are a little wrong, according to the health officials keeping track of the numbers. The Deputy Health Officer for the OHA Dr. Tom Jeanne tells our newspartner KGW, the system is being overwhelmed and they are about to change it for better and more accurate numbers.

The Oregon Health Authority reports and keeps tally of things like new cases, and testing statewide. Dr. Jeanne says in the beginning of the pandemic, the OHA decided to track how many new people were getting tested, not how many total people were being tested. Some people are tested more than once, and any additional covid test you take after your first one, is not counted in the new daily numbers. The new cases reported each day only include new people who haven’t been tested before.

The could mean more negative tests are not being counted, and positivity rates could actually be lower than we think.

Dr. Jeanne says the OHA is changing how they track covid testing in the next couple of months for better accuracy.