Douglas County Announces 20 New Cases Today

Douglas County has announced today its largest increase of cases in one day since the pandemic began. Twenty new cases were added today. Douglas County now has 107 total cases. 98 confirmed cases, and 9 presumptive cases. Here is part of the release from Douglas County. "Sadly, today we are reporting the largest single day increase of people with new positive test results since our first positive COVID-19 test result was reported on March 8, 2020. The majority of new positive test results today are attributed to an ongoing investigation of a local workplace outbreak. Additionally, due to the increase in test availability and the increase in those being tested nationwide, there is a backlog of tests at the COVID-19 lab sites that has created a longer than expected delay in the return of test results and an unexpected return of a large number of test results all at once. “Today serves as a wakeup call for everyone in Douglas County. This virus is still very active, and it’s in Douglas County. It seems too simple to be true, but the way we stop the spread of this virus is to follow these simple recommendations: maintain a six-foot physical distance from others, wash your hands often, avoid group and social gatherings, wear a face covering where recommended, stay home if you are sick, curtail your travel and discourage those traveling from visiting you. It’s really that simple,” stated Commissioner Tim Freeman. OHA to Report Workplace Outbreak of 20 or More Positive Test Results in Douglas County OHA reported a workplace outbreak on July 22, 2020 at Norris Farms in Douglas County, after the business surpassed the state threshold for public disclosure of 5 or more positive tests for a business with more than 30 employees. Tomorrow, Friday, July 24, OHA plans to report that the outbreak at this workplace has now reached 20 or more positive test results. As of the date and time of this update, there are 22 workers at this workplace with positive tests. The case count includes all persons linked to the outbreak, which may include household members and other close contacts to employees. Local case investigation started on June 24, but the initial case count was below the threshold for public disclosure. State and county public health officials are working together with the business to address the outbreak, support and encourage isolation/quarantine for those that tested positive and their contacts, and protect the health of workers and their families. “This is an unfortunate situation and we will continue to work closely with Norris Farms. I remain certain that the risk of this outbreak to the public is low. The increase in positive tests for this workplace is not totally unexpected, as many of the workers came from other States that have a high level or hot spots of COVID-19 cases. Norris Farms continues to do all the right things from testing, changing operations to promote social distancing and hygiene, daily screening on site and supporting those positive cases and their contacts in quarantine and isolation. Norris worked with public health and completed more than 300 tests of their employees, and they continue to be tremendous in their support of those that are positive and their contacts,” stated Dr. Bob Dannenhofffer, Douglas County Public Health Officer. Norris Farms is a family-owned and operated farm and has been in the Umpqua Valley since 1976. For more information about Norris Farms and their response to COVID-19, please visit their website at www.norrisblueberryfarms.com