By Nicole Montesano • Staff Writer • 

Oregon remains better off than neighbors, but testing still behind

Submitted photo##Drive-thru testing for COVID-19 started last week at Providence Newberg Medical Center. It is open only for about an hour a day and patients must be referred by a doctor to receive the test. Hospital spokesman Mike Antrim said they have been testing about 18 people daily.
Submitted photo##Drive-thru testing for COVID-19 started last week at Providence Newberg Medical Center. It is open only for about an hour a day and patients must be referred by a doctor to receive the test. Hospital spokesman Mike Antrim said they have been testing about 18 people daily.

Oregon remains in better shape than neighbors, but testing still low

Oregon’s COVID-19 case load and death rate remain relatively low toward the end of the first month of a statewide lockdown, with 373 new cases and 22 deaths reported in the last week.

The state tally as of Monday afternoon stood at 1,956 cases and 75 deaths. In Yamhill County, there were 35 COVID-19 cases as of Monday. There have been no deaths in the county since April 8.

That makes for a sharp comparison with states such as New York, which has 238,138 cases, and Massachusetts, which is reporting 38,077. It also contrasts with its neighbors: California with 28,963, Washington at 11,790, and Idaho at 1,672, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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However, testing remains extremely limited. As of Monday, Oregon had tested just 40,045 people – still less than 1 percent of the population, although the number is creeping up.

On Sunday, Oregon Health Authority Officials said the agency is updating its testing guidance for providers and that Oregon’s Public Health Laboratory would augment testing.

“Longer term, testing is a key strategy for understanding the transmission of the virus and population prevalence of disease,” it said. “As of April 17, Oregon’s positive testing result has remained fairly consistent at about 5% of tests performed; as compared to the national average of 17.6%.”

It said the state lab “continues to prioritize its testing to identify and control clusters of disease in congregate care settings, including long-term care and correctional facilities.”

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A number of Oregon’s cases are in long-term care homes, including Yamhill County, where 12 of the 35 cases confirmed so far have been in connection with Astor House, a retirement home in Newberg.

All six of the county’s COVID-19 deaths have been among Astor House residents. All were people in their 80s and 90s with underlying health risks.

On Monday, Gov. Kate Brown announced that the Oregon National Guard will distribute about 395,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to long-term care facilities across Oregon.

“The rapid distribution of masks, gloves, and face shields is aimed to immediately supplement efforts by the Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority to support facilities by helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 to residents and staff,” the governor’s news release said.

“The staff of Oregon's long-term care facilities are on the front lines of our fight against COVID-19, and I am committed to protecting their health and safety," she said. "This critical equipment will help protect both them, and the residents of these facilities, who are among the most at-risk Oregonians for exposure and infection.”

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The Oregon Health Authority said that its testing goals are to:

N Protect health care providers, first responders and critical infrastructure workers.

N Increase access to testing in health care settings to appropriately treat patients.

N Identify and control the spread of disease in congregate care settings.

N Eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 health outcomes.

 

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