October 5, 2020 5:50 a.m.

Governor Kate Brown has added Benton and Clatsop counties to the County Watch List.

Brown said due to increased sporadic COVID-19 cases in those counties, the Oregon Health Authority is reaching out to provide additional support to help county officials reduce community spread.

A release said counties are placed on the Watch List when COVID-19 is spreading quickly and public health officials cannot trace that spread to specific sources, creating a potentially dangerous dynamic. Specific markers of this rapid community spread include when there is sporadic case rate of 50 or more per 100,000 people in the last two weeks and the county has had more than 5 sporadic cases in the last two weeks. Counties remain on the watch list for three weeks and until their sporadic case rates drop below these thresholds.

Benton and Clatsop join Malheur on the County Watch List.