At the direction of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, the Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday began disclosing more information about the growing number of coronavirus cases and the capacity of the state’s hospitals to handle them.

The health authority is now:

· Reporting more detailed age ranges for positive cases. Those now include 10-year ranges for the oldest people instead of lumping together everyone 55 and older.

· Disclosing the number of ventilators, intensive care unit beds and hospital beds that are available statewide each day.

· Reporting daily the numbers remaining in state stockpiles of respirators, masks, gowns and gloves, essential tools for protecting front-line medical staff treating COVID-19 patients. Numbers released Wednesday show sharp drawdowns in the state’s supplies.

Figures shared for the first time Wednesday show that Oregon has available 394 ICU beds, 608 ventilators and 2,028 non-ICU beds.

That means most of the state’s estimated 688 ventilators are available, about two-thirds of Oregon’s ICU beds are free and roughly a third of its hospital beds are open. Until now, state health officials had refused to provide the figures, even while saying they needed to prepare for a surge of as many as 1,000 coronavirus patients.

That lack of transparency had drawn protests from media outlets around the state. While Brown had canceled elective procedures statewide to free up beds and conserve equipment, the state’s capacity was not known.

Pressed about the problems Monday during a call with The Oregonian/OregonLive’s editorial board, the governor asked for examples of states that were disclosing better information. A reporter drafted a list of recommendations of ways that Oregon could improve. The guidance was subsequently endorsed by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Oregon chapter.

In a Wednesday morning call with reporters, Brown said she directed the Oregon Health Authority to look closely at the request and “share all COVID-19 information with the public that does not compromise patient privacy.”

To date, 75 people have been hospitalized. It is still unclear how many have recovered. Other disclosure gaps still remain. But, Brown said, “there will be more information coming soon.”

— Rob Davis

rdavis@oregonian.com

503.294.7657; @robwdavis

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.