126 homeless people died in Oregon’s largest county in 2020

By SARA CLINE
Associated Press/Report for America

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Last year, 126 people died while experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County, Oregon’s largest county and home to Portland. However officials said Wednesday none of the deaths were attributed to COVID-19. Jennifer Vines, the county’s health officer, said possible explanations for the lack of coronavirus-related deaths are because of proactive responses during the pandemic, an increasingly young homeless population — as younger adults are less likely to be hospitalized due to the illness — and because there were no known COVID-19 outbreaks for people living outside in 2020 and few outbreaks in shelters. Methamphetamines were a factor in nearly half of the homeless deaths.