As Central Oregonians braced for an influx of coronavirus-carrying visitors this Memorial Day Weekend, a spike in cases revealed that COVID-19 carriers may live among us. Deschutes County contact tracers found many cases were spread at parties, and the majority were people under 29. Cases in Redmond are also on the rise, according to Morgan Emerson, preparedness coordinator with DC Health Services.
In just three days—May 18 through 20—the Oregon Health Authority documented 19 new cases in Deschutes County. This was shortly after the county was approved by the governor for reopening. Due to the long incubation period of the virus, Emerson said the surge was unrelated to opening.
“Over the last seven days, 27 new cases have been reported for Deschutes County, a 70% increase over the previous seven-day total case incidence of eight,” wrote Numi Lee Griffith, a health researcher with the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group on May 21.
“This is an increase in cases fully 65% higher than the state threshold for considering a reimposition of restrictions.”
On the OHA’s Public Health Indicator report card, Deschutes County got a 3 out of 6, the worst score in the state as of May 25. Cases have risen this past week by 11%, way more than the state’s threshold of 5%, which would trigger closing back down. OHA gives the county another red mark because 50 percent of its new cases cannot be traced to a known source.
Whether the state will use the county’s health status to put the area back on lockdown remains to be seen.
Deschutes County only employs six contact tracers: Their job is to find and monitor people who may have been in close contact with someone who has been infected. So far they’ve been keeping up with new cases, health authorities said, but the county is supposed to have a total of 30 tracers. The Deschutes County Commissioners told the governor that the county has plenty of staff on hand who could be deployed into this role if need be.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 3, 2020.
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Open your eyes. Look around you. This uptick should come as no surprise. No masks. No distancing. It’s only going to get worse as people ignore the volubility of this virus. Memorial Day weekend was a bad joke in town.
I watch the numbers reported in the Source’s daily email update. The Deschutes County positive case count shows the following:
5/25: 119
5/26: 120
5/27: 120
That doesn’t seem like a spike.
STOP blowing things out of proportion!! Deschutes county has a population of almost TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND and we have 120 cases 🙄
120 cases out of a population of almost 200,000 in Deschutes county doesn’t seem high to me!
The weak and elderly people should stay home and the rest should get out , excercise and build up the immuun system!!
Misleading article, 70% case rise equal 19 new cases. How many were hospitalized? Good to keep an eye on these numbers for sure, but this is simply fueling the fear of those who are susceptible to such fear.
Is ignorance blissful for those of you who choose blinders over a simple face covering? What is it going to take for you to see this IS NOT a political virus? Viruses dont care about your choice of Gods or political sides. The choice to wear a mask or not is NOT a political stance or a snuff of your freedom. It simply shows you care enough to put your pride aside for the safety of your neighbors and local workers. What stance will you take when you or your family member is fighting for their life and loose the fight? Remember, YOU are responsible for the spread of this virus and YOU will carry the lives lost on your conscious. How will you justify your lack of action? How can you make the choice for me and my safety and not see that you are raping my rights to be safe at work? I work with the public and I put my life on the line day in and day out to serve the people of this community so I can pay rent and bills each month. All that your local workers of Central Oregon are asking is that you cover your mouth and nose from spreading the virus to us. Respect the simple fact that most frontline employees cannot afford to pay for the medical bills contracting this virus would create or the life long health issues that remain after youre recovered. Some of us have medical conditions that we would most likely die from, now knowing that this is a neurological and clotting disease. We do not have the option of working from home if you want Oregon to open up and get back to normal. The normal you knew is forever gone. The sooner you come to terms with that the easier we call all move forward safely and figure out what our new normal looks like. Will you be someone who helped, or hindered along the way?
People seem to forget this virus spreads exponentially so 120 cases without quarantine, distancing and masks can become 120,00 in 15-30 days.
The US population is 4.25% (331 million) of the whole world population (8 billion). 1/3 of the total world wide cases of the virus are United States citizens (1.47 million).
Why is this?
(Stats as of 5/28)