A4 THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
Pandemic trend
Washington state
sees increased drug
overdose deaths
Associated Press
More people in Washington
state died of drug overdoses in
2020 than any year in at least
the past decade, with the surge
likely driven by the effects of
the pandemic, state health offi-
cials said.
The spike mirrors national
trends. In December the Cen-
ters for Disease Control had re-
ported more than 81,000 drug
overdose deaths occurred in
the U.S. in the 12 months end-
ing in May 2020 — the high-
est number of overdose deaths
ever recorded in a 12-month
period.
“The disruption to daily life
due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic has hit those with sub-
stance use disorder hard,” CDC
Director Robert Redfield said
at the time.
The Seattle Times reported
that fatal drug overdoses in
Washington state increased
more than 30% last year com-
pared to 2019, according to
the data from the state Health
Department. The increase was
more than twice as large as any
in the past decade.
Deadly opioid overdoses —
from prescription painkillers,
fentanyl and other similar sub-
stances — increased by nearly
40%, according to the data.
That represented more than
triple the rate of any other in-
crease in the past decade.
The Washington Depart-
ment of Health was still an-
alyzing the preliminary data
and causes of death in specific
cases, and health officials ex-
pect the number of overdose
deaths to grow even higher.
“It is reasonable to believe the
psychological, social and eco-
nomic impacts of COVID-19
led to an increase in drug use,”
said Kristen Maki, a spokesper-
son for the department.
In 2020 the health depart-
ment reported 1,649 drug
overdose deaths, compared
with 1,259 the previous year.
Many more people reached out
for help with drug or alcohol
problems during 2020.
Calls to the Washington Re-
covery Help Line, a toll-free
phone line for people seek-
ing help or treatment for sub-
stance abuse, increased more
than 90% in 2020 compared to
2019, according to data from
the program, which is primar-
ily funded by the state.
Troy Seibert, opioid use dis-
order manager for the recovery
help line, said the disruptions
and traumas over the past year
— job losses, isolation, illness
and death — contributed to the
increases.
“Any time we see folks in a
state of despair, substance use
is going to rise,” Seibert said.
STATE BRIEFING
Rescuers find 71-year-old hiker missing in the Gorge
A 71-year-old man who had been missing in the Columbia
River Gorge since Saturday night was found alive Monday, offi-
cials said.
One of the volunteer search and rescue crews that began look-
ing for Joe Dean, of Portland, early Monday found him near the
trail where he was last heard from, the Multnomah County Sher-
iff’s Office said in a tweet.
Around 11 a.m., the sheriff’s office said Dean had been brought
down from the trail in wheeled basket and reunited with his fam-
ily. He was being taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, accord-
ing to the sheriff’s office.
Dean had gone for a hike Saturday on the Rock of Ages trail
near Multnomah Falls but texted his wife that night that he had
become lost, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Of-
fice. The trail is not maintained and has been closed since the
Eagle Creek Fire. The sheriff’s office reported Dean is an experi-
enced hiker but was not prepared to spend the night.
Deputies and 16 search and rescue volunteers responded
around 11 p.m. Sunday. More crews showed up Monday morn-
ing, and a drone and a plane were used to aid the search.
— Bulletin wire report
COVID-19
Continued from A1
Under the rules, those num-
bers mean no counties will be
put in extreme risk level when
the new limits are announced
Tuesday and go into effect May
14.
The new numbers show
Central Oregon has among
the highest levels of infection
and rates. Deschutes, Crook
and Jefferson counties are well
above the 200 infections per
100,000 mark. But because
of the statewide metric re-
quirement, they will almost
certainly stay in the high-risk
level, the second most restric-
tive.
Deschutes County reported
1,069 COVID-19 cases over
the past two weeks, with the
cases per 100,000 rising to
542.6. Also up is the positive
test rate, which at 9% is seen by
health officials as a figure that
could lead to future exponen-
tial growth of cases.
Crook County reported
546 cases per 100,000, a slight
increase. But its test positiv-
ity rate fell to 8.6% from 9%.
While still high, the rate is
trending in the right direction.
Jefferson County also saw its
rate per 100,000 rise to 315.3
cases, but its positive test rate
fell to 8.5% from 8.9%.
Deschutes County didn’t
post the worst numbers of Or-
egon’s large counties only be-
cause neighboring Klamath
County is so much higher than
any populous area in the state.
Klamath County actually
saw its number drop, but still
leads Oregon in cases by a wide
margin. The county had 526
cases, with 772.7 per 100,000.
The downward trend could
be in doubt because of a rising
positive infection rate, now at
17.4%
The biggest ongoing impact
is in the Portland tri-county
area. Multnomah County
showed a small drop in cases;
cases in Clackamas rose, and
Washington County’s met-
rics showed mixed results. But
all were above 200 cases per
100,000, the rate that in other
circumstances would have
them all in the extreme risk
level. They will likely remain at
high risk level for another two
weeks.
Linn County was another
large county that showed a
continued sharp climb in cases
and infection rate. Benton and
Polk counties showed smaller
upticks.
Large counties showing fall-
ing rates of various sizes in-
clude Marion and Lane coun-
ties. Lincoln county dropped
below 100 cases per 100,000.
gwarner@eomediagroup.com
Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip toward Israel on Monday. Jerusalem was a target for the first time in years. Khalil Hamra/AP
Hamas escalates Jerusalem crisis
Associated Press
JERUSALEM — The
Hamas militant group on
Monday launched a rare
rocket strike on Jerusalem
after hundreds of Palestin-
ians were hurt in clashes with
Israeli police at an iconic
mosque, as tensions in the
holy city pushed the region
closer to full-fledged war.
Israel responded with air-
strikes across the Gaza Strip,
where 20 people, including
nine children, were killed in
fighting. More than 700 Pal-
estinians were hurt in clashes
with Israeli security forces in
Jerusalem and across the West
Bank, including nearly 500
who were treated at hospitals.
It was a long day of anger
and deadly violence that laid
bare Jerusalem’s deep divi-
sions, even as Israel tried to
celebrate its capture of the
city’s eastern sector and its
sensitive holy sites more than
half a century ago. With doz-
ens of rockets flying into Israel
throughout the night, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
met with top security officials
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Mahmoud Illean/AP
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday. The mosque is in a hill-
top compound that is the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest in
Judaism. Tensions at the site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctu-
ary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, have triggered repeated bouts
of violence in the past.
and warned that the fighting
could drag on, despite calls for
calm from the U.S., Europe
and elsewhere.
“The terrorist organizations
in Gaza have crossed a red line
and attacked us with missiles
in the outskirts of Jerusalem,”
Netanyahu said. “Whoever
attacks us will pay a heavy
price,” he said, warning that
the fighting could “continue
for some time.”
By late Monday, the military
had carried out dozens of air-
strikes across Gaza, targeting
what it said were Hamas mil-
itary installations and opera-
tives. It said a Hamas tunnel,
rocket launchers and at least
eight militants had been hit.
Gaza health officials gave
no further breakdowns on the
casualties. At least 13 of the 20
deaths in Gaza were attributed
to the airstrikes. Seven of
the deaths were members
of a single family, including
three children, who died in a
mysterious explosion in the
northern Gaza town of Beit
Hanoun. It was not clear if the
blast was caused by an Israeli
airstrike or errant rocket.
Shortly before midnight,
the Israeli army said at least
150 rockets had been fired
into Israel. That included a
barrage of six rockets that
targeted Jerusalem, some 60
miles away. It set off air raid
sirens throughout Jerusalem,
and explosions could be heard
in what was believed to be the
first time the city had been
targeted since a 2014 war.
In a statement issued early
Tuesday, Hamas leader Is-
mail Haniyeh said the rocket
attacks would continue until
Israel stops “all scenes of ter-
rorism and aggression in Jeru-
salem and Al-Aqsa mosque.”