Record 551 new COVID-19 cases recorded in JaCo on Wednesday, hospitals feeling burden

Jenna King January 19, 2022

Last Updated: January 19, 2022

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. —Jackson County continues to break records for COVID-19 cases, it has 551 Wednesday. Jackson County Public Health says the surge in cases and people testing to return to work or travel, are pushing testing capacity to its limit.

Providence Medford Medical Center says it’s feeling the strain. The CEO says it’s seeing an increase in patient volume coming through its emergency department, urgent care, and testing sites.

“We are seeing the numbers climb at a much higher rate than what we saw with Delta though the symptoms are less severe for those vaccinated, we are seeing a larger volume overall,” said Providence CEO, Chris Pizzi.

OHSU projects a peak at the end of the month, with 1600 hospitalizations statewide. Providence’s Medford CEO says during the peak with Delta, that number was around 1200 hospitalizations, so it’s preparing for things to get worse.

Jenna King January 19, 2022

Jenna King

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Jenna King was the 6pm anchor and our Feature Reporter at 10pm and 11pm for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.