PENDLETON — More than half of all patients currently hospitalized at CHI St. Anthony in Pendleton have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a hospital spokeswoman. 

A copy of the OHA report for Tuesday shows 1,032 new cases statewide.

Hospitalizations statewide spiked to the highest totals since April on July 27 with 259, up 52 since July 26, according to the state.

As of the afternoon of July 27, the Oregon Health Authority webpage monitoring hospital bed capacity showed that of the three hospital regions east of the Cascades, there were only eight intensive care unit beds were available out of 81 units across the region. 

The Pendleton hospital has reported a “significant uptick” in positive COVID-19 cases over the past week, nearing peak numbers last winter, the spokeswoman, Emily Smith, said in an email. Fourteen people have been hospitalized with the virus over the past seven days, with eight hospitalized on Monday, July 26, alone.

Local hospitals will sometimes refer critically ill patients to other facilities for a higher level of care. But regional hospitals have been “unable to accept transfers” because they are full with patients, Smith said. 

For one patient in need of a transfer, health care workers reached out to 15 different hospitals before finding one with an available bed, Smith said.

On July 26, the emergency department’s physician director reported a threefold increase in patients testing positive in the department over the past five days, Smith said. On July 23 and July 24 alone, approximately 40% of patients who came to the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms tested positive. None had been vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston said over the weekend they are also seeing an increase in hospitalizations and positive COVID-19 tests, but the hospital has yet to disclose any data. 

The hospitalizations come as Umatilla County reports one of the largest surges in COVID-19 cases in Oregon, reporting about 8% of the state’s total cases over the past two weeks despite accounting for just 2% of its population. The county’s case rate during that same time period was more than seven times higher than Multnomah and Washington counties, which both have more than 500,000 more residents than Umatilla County.

Health officials say the surge is largely due to social gatherings and large summer events that have ensued since the state lifted all pandemic restrictions on June 30. And experts say the highly contagious delta variant appears to be spreading rapidly through unvaccinated communities. 

Umatilla County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Oregon, with less than 40% of residents fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The county reported 112 new COVID-19 cases on July 27, a total that included cases fromJuly 24, through July 26, according to county officials. 

Just a few weeks ago, CHI St. Anthony’s tested 73 people. Five of those tests came back positive, amounting to a positive test rate of 6.8%.

But in the past seven days, the hospital has tested 107 people with 28 coming back positive. That’s a positivity rate of 26.1% — a number that doesn’t include the patients who come to the hospital known to have COVID-19.   

The hospital reports that between 25% to 30% of its daily visits are now due to COVID-19, which Smith said “has risen dramatically in the last week.” 

Gary A. Warner of the Oregon Capital Bureau contributed to this report.