COVID-19 cases increased in Baker County during May, mirroring state and national trends, but the county’s numbers remained well below levels during most of the pandemic.

The Baker County Health Department reported 49 cases during May.

That’s up from 13 in April and 14 in March.

Except for those two months, however, May’s total was less than any other month since June 2020.

The number of tests in the county has been relatively steady, ranging from 139 to 147 over the past three weeks.

Baker County had a record 646 cases during January 2022, the peak of the omicron surge. Case totals dropped rapidly thereafter, to 230 during February, before the even more precipitous decline during March and April.

Statewide, case rates rose for eight straight weeks before declining by 13% for the week ending May 30, according to statistics from the Oregon Health Authority.

The number of people in Oregon hospitals who have tested positive for COVID-19 has increased from 89 on April 12 to 303 on May 31. Of those, 29 were being treated in an intensive care unit.

The number of COVID-19-related deaths statewide dropped from 626 during February 2022 to 69 in April. May’s total was 71 deaths through May 26.

Baker County has reported only one COVID-19-related death since mid March — on April 23. There have been 49 deaths in the county related to the virus during the pandemic.