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Reported COVID-19 cases down in Rogue Valley By Vickie Aldous Dec 30, 2022 12:30 PM A A Newly reported COVID-19 cases fell over the past week in Jackson County, marking the third week in a row of lower numbers. It’s not clear yet whether the lower numbers represent an actual decline in cases, or a drop-off in testing over the Christmas holiday. Oregon Health Authority updates case counts on a weekly basis. OHA reported 163 new COVID-19 cases in Jackson County for the past week, down from 222 the week before. For Josephine County, OHA reported 40 new cases, a drop from 113 the week before. No Rogue Valley residents died of COVID-19-related causes over the past week. Statewide, three Oregon residents died of COVID-19-related causes, according to preliminary information from OHA. Deaths can take time to categorize as OHA receives and analyzes information from health care facilities and death certificates. As of Wednesday, hospitals in Jackson and Josephine counties were caring for 42 patients with the virus compared with 37 the week before, according to state hospitalization data. Intensive care unit beds in the Rogue Valley’s four hospitals were 96% full Wednesday with two open beds. Non-ICU beds were 89% full with 50 open beds. Oregon hospitals were caring for 346 patients with the virus Wednesday compared with 314 the week before, data shows. ICU beds in other regions of the state ranged from 89% to 100% full. Non-ICU beds were 71% to 99% full.