March 24, 2020 2:15 p.m.
3 more people have died and there are 18 new cases of COVID-19 in Oregon as of Tuesday according to state officials
County officials have added additional information which changes the numbers. A release from the Douglas County Board of Commissioners and the Douglas Public Health Network said 2 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Douglas County. Partial results are back from the drive through clinics held last week, but DPHN is still waiting on a majority of those test results. The 2 new local cases were not from a drive-through clinic. Of the 52 tests done at the recent drive through clinics, 6 have returned as negative. DPHN is still waiting for the results on the remaining 46 tests.
DPHN has launched their epidemiology investigation related to these 2 new cases, identifying who those individuals have had contact with. Close contacts of the confirmed cases will be notified by public health.
Laura Turpen, Communicable Disease Epidemiologist at DPHN, said “the early numbers coming in of positive and negative tests tell us that our efforts of social distancing to reduce the spread of the disease is working”. She said “it is not a time to give up our efforts, the next 14 days will be critical”.
An update from the Oregon Health Authority said there are now 209 cases of COVID-19. The additional local numbers drive that total to 211.
The new cases reported include:
7 cases in Washington County, 4 cases in Multnomah County, 3 cases in Clackamas County, 2 cases in Marion County and 1 case each in Jackson and Clatsop counties
Those who have died include:
*A 78-year old man in Clackamas County. He tested positive on March 15th and died on Sunday at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. He had underlying health conditions.
*A 63-year old man in Multnomah County who had underlying medical conditions and was not hospitalized at the time of his death. He tested positive on March 16th and died March 23rd
*A 90-year old woman in Washington County who tested positive on March 19th and died March 23rd at Providence Saint Vincent Medical Center. She had underlying medical conditions.