February 04 2021
Vital statistics are released for 2020 as the Oregon Health Authority reports 730 more cases and seven additional deaths.
Oregon experienced more deaths than births last year for the first time, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As the pandemic wanes, the number of deaths should fall as well, meaning Oregon's natural increase in the population is not yet turning into a natural decrease on a sustained basis," Josh Lehner of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis wrote on his blog Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Lehner's comment was in response to the updated monthly vital statistics — births and deaths — released by the Oregon Health Authority through December 2020. In the past 12 months, deaths outnumbered births by just over 200, at least in the preliminary numbers, which will change some when all the records are complete, Lehner wrote.