After Benton County reported its highest single day total of COVID-19 cases on Saturday, health officials said Oregon State University move-in day was partly to blame.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, there were 27 new COVID-19 cases reported Saturday for Benton County. However, that number dropped significantly on Sunday when OHA reported the county had 7 new cases.
OSU students started to move into their residence halls on Friday and will continue to until Tuesday. This left many community members wondering if the two events were connected.
“Certainly in the Benton County community, the influx of OSU students is one of the higher likelihood reasons,” Benton County Public Information Officer Lili’a Neville said.