March 14, 2020 7:30 a.m.
Douglas County Commissioners and the Douglas Public Health Network provided an update on the COVID-19 outbreak on Friday.
The release said Oregon’s COVID-19 response reached high intensity this week as state and local officials announced widespread restrictions on public gatherings, workplace and travel recommendations and a K-12 school closure through the end of the month. In addition, many local, regional and national events have been postponed or cancelled. That includes music concerts, fundraisers, sporting events and conferences. The release said those measures were put into place to help slow the spread of COVID-19, which had 30 confirmed cases in Oregon as of Friday. It has also been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.
Douglas County Health officials have established a local hotline for people with questions about COVID-19. The call center is staffed with health care professionals who can answer questions from the public. It is running from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. The hotline number is 464-6550.
Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer said at this time you can only get a COVID-19 test from your health care provider. Tests are currently being processed at the Oregon State Public Health Lab and a growing number of commercial labs, like Quest and LabCorp. Dannenhoffer said there is not yet an established timeline for receiving test results. There are very few outpatient clinics in Douglas County offering testing at this time. He said community health partners are working very hard to make testing available to a wider number of people.