Oregon officials warn of fourth COVID-19 surge

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As vaccine administration continues to ramp up in Oregon, health officials say they  are concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state and variants of the virus. During the past two weeks, Oregon’s COVID-19 case count rates have been rising. Based on the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 report that was released Wednesday, during the week of March 22 coronavirus cases increased by 28% from the previous week. Health officials say that if more contagious variants take hold in Oregon, the COVID-19 transmission rate in the state could increase by 20% during April.