April 22, 2020 3:35 a.m.
The Oregon Health Authority has announced revised guidelines for COVID-19 testing to prioritize impacted populations and frontline workers.
An OHA release said the guidelines continue to allow healthcare providers to make clinical decisions about their patients.
In addition, if supplies allow, asymptomatic people within congregate care or group living systems can be considered for testing.
The newly revised guidelines urge clinicians to potentially increase testing for Oregonians who may be at particular risk for contracting COVID-19. Those groups include:
*Those living or working in congregate care or group living facilities.
*Underserved and marginalized populations, including racial and ethnic minority groups.
*Essential frontline workers, include those providing healthcare services and those serving the public such as grocery store workers.
The new clinical guidelines for testing are posted with this story as www.541radio.com.
https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le2267.pdf
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state epidemiologist said “as we’ve done numerous times during the COVID-19 epidemic, we’ve revised our testing guidelines in order to fit the changing shape of the disease outbreak, and to ensure we’re best responding to the current situation”.
He said increased testing in specific areas will help OHA, other state agencies and partners to understand and manage the epidemic.
The release said the testing guidelines were developed with input from local public health authorities, epidemiologists and physicians, taking into account the latest understanding of testing supplies and availability in Oregon. It said the guidelines also are responsive to the latest data analysis showing the contours of the outbreak in Oregon.