Douglas County Reports 28 New Cases, 13 Local Residents Remain Hospitalized

(DCCRT) As of 12:00 pm today, Friday, November 20, 2020, there are TWENTY-EIGHT (28) people with new positive test results and ONE (1) presumptive since our noon case update yesterday*. The total number of cases (people with positive test results and presumptive) in Douglas County is now at 757*. Currently, there are THIRTEEN (13) Douglas County COVID-19 patients that are being hospitalized, 12 locally and 1 out-of-the-area. Our Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, under the direction of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Public Health Officer and Douglas Public Health Network continue to devote all resources available to our local COVID efforts. PLEASE STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK! Please Stay Home from All Activities If You Are Sick, Feeling Even a Little Sick or Not Fully Recovered Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, Douglas County Public Health Official would like to remind residents about the importance of staying home when you are sick to help protect others from getting sick. This means not only staying home from work and school, but also staying home from all other activities and social events. Please, if you are sick, even if you just have a runny nose or stuffy head, do not attend birthday parties, weddings, poker nights, prayer groups, church or go work out at the gym and expose others to your illness. You Are the Key to Controlling the Spread of COVID! It is no secret that the key to stopping the continued spread of the coronavirus is, YOU, our residents, our families, our communities and our businesses. Yes, prevention is the best medicine, and not just to help stop the spread of COVID, but for your overall health and wellbeing as well. If each and every individual in our county would make a real concerted effort to implement prevention measures into their daily routine, we could see a huge decrease in our COVID case numbers. That means we need each and everyone one of our residents to take steps to minimize the spread of germs and contagions. They can do this by choosing to maintain healthier eating habits; incorporate exercise and cleaning routines; being cautious and keeping distance from others; making modifications to how you socialize with others; choosing no contact deliveries and services; and staying home if you are sick. The suggestions we make and the guidelines presented by public health are not just for your health and safety, but for the health and safety of everyone, including our kids, our grandparents, our coworkers, our first responders, our teachers and our businesses. We know we sound like a broken record, but our primary focus is to do everything we can to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of our residents. Tips to Help Stop the Spread of COVID Make a habit of washing and sanitizing your hands, regularly. That means washing after you eat, if you touch new surfaces, go to the bathroom, open a door, go to the store, go to the post office or after a meeting. Also try and avoid touching your face as much as possible. Please wear a mask when you are around others not from your household. Not just for your protection, but for the protection of others. Stay at least six feet apart from anyone that is not from your immediate household. This means paying attention to the distance stickers at the store, the bank, at restaurants and at businesses. Please be respectful, kind and polite, by giving people ample space. Stay home from work, school and play if you are sick. This includes not running errands or going shopping or inviting visitors to your home. If you need help, reach out to friends, family or utilize an app or businesses that offer no contact deliveries or services. Minimize travel, especially out of the state and limit visitors to your home. Minimize attending social gatherings or going places where there are large groups of people. We have now surpassed the seven hundred and twenty mark with COVID-19 cases in Douglas County, with 27 new positive and presumptive cases today. The DCCRT team, under the direction of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, along with Dr. Dannenhoffer and Douglas Public Health Network encourage residents to make prevention measures a part of their everyday routines. (Graphic shared from GPB media) Local Cases Being Supported in Isolation and Quarantine Currently, DPHN is supporting 223 cases in isolation, as well as another 491 contacts in quarantine in Douglas County. Isolation is recommended for confirmed and presumptive cases, quarantine is recommended for contacts of confirmed or presumptive cases. Currently, staff is supporting an astonishing 714 total contacts in isolation or quarantine. This number represents a snapshot of the significant amount of work being done by our county and Douglas Public Health Network to help control the spread of COVID-19. Getting Tested & Testing Clinics The next drive-through testing clinic will be Today, Friday, November 20, 2020, in Roseburg. There will also be another drive-through testing clinic in Reedsport on Saturday, November 21, 2020. As a reminder, if you are having symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches and pains, diarrhea, sore throat or decreased sense of smell and taste, talk to your health care provider about being tested for COVID-19. Patients without a Primary Care Provider, that are looking for a COVID-19 test should contact the Sutherlin Aviva Health Clinic at (541) 459-3788. The first drive-through testing site was piloted in the county on March 17, 2020, there have been 1877 people tested in 90 drive-through clinics, while additional testing continues in hospitals, urgent cares and clinics. The drive-through clinics are led by DPHN, in conjunction with partner agencies including; Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Public Works, local volunteers and local health professionals. Oregon COVID-19 Case Update Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reports new cases once a day on their website at www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus. OHA also releases a daily situation status report and a weekly report that details the overall picture of the COVID-19 outbreak within our state. The daily report details positive and presumptive cases, as well as deaths by county and statewide, while the weekly report is more in depth and includes statistical data related the severity of cases by age, gender, zip codes, ethnicity, as well as information on workplace and senior care facility outbreaks in Oregon. Find additional information on the state or Federal COVID-19 response go to Oregon Health Authority, Centers for Disease Control, and 211Info. Oregon COVID-19 Presumptive OHA expanded their reporting for COVID-19 case management to now include presumptive COVID-19 cases in their total case number. DPHN is reporting the number of people with new positive test results and any new presumptives and uses the OHA’s definition of presumptive as having had close contact with a known, confirmed COVID-19 case, showing symptoms and not yet having a positive nasal swab/PCR or antigen test for COVID-19. Testing continues, as DPHN has been holding 2-3 clinics a week and hospitals, urgent cares and clinics continue to test. DPHN continues their epidemiologic investigations, identifying individuals who may have had close contact with individuals that have tested positive for COVID-19, advising and supporting quarantine and isolation. Douglas County (541) 672-3311 Douglas Public Health Network (541) 440-3571 OHA Reporting and Definition for Recovered As per the Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 Investigative Guidelines, the number of recovered cases is no longer being assessed or reported by OHA. Up until May 1st, 2020 recovery from COVID-19 was defined as being afebrile (not feverish), without the use of antipyretics (medicine to reduce a fever), and having resolution of cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea for at least 72 hours. As more was learned about symptoms, recovery and contagious period, the definition of recovered changed. Beginning May 1st, OHA stopped reporting recovered cases while also separating recovery from contagious or isolation period. Many cases were no longer contagious, as they were outside of the contagious period, but still having lingering symptoms. To be consistent with OHA and to adapt as we learn more about this new virus, we removed the column in our chart listing recovered cases. At that point, we added the number of those in isolation, roughly indicating active or infectious cases of COVID-19 in Douglas County. Facebook Live with Dr. Bob Please join us Today, Friday, November 20, 2020 at 4:00 pm for the next Facebook Live event with Dr. Bob. hosted by DPHN on the DPHN Facebook page. Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Douglas County Public Health Officer will continue their normal schedule of Facebook “Live Q&A Updates” next week with both his Tuesday night at 6:00 pm and Friday night at 4:00 pm on the DPHN Facebook page. Residents are still able to submit their COVID-19 questions to Dr. Bob during the live shows, but you can also email your questions to: Facebookquestions@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org. Dr. Bob and the DPHN team will do their best to respond to as many questions as they can during their weekly updates. Stay Informed with Accurate Local Information LOCAL COVID-19 INFORMATION Stay up to date on COVID-19 in Douglas County on the Douglas County Government website or the DPHN website. Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team (DCCRT) have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information to Douglas County residents since March 8, 2020. Our local COVID-19 updates represent the coordinated effort of the agencies that make up the DCCRT. Douglas County Resource/COVID-19 Hotline: (541) 464-6550: Douglas County Commissioners and Douglas Public Health Network have added a resource and referral service to the current COVID-19 hotline for Douglas County residents. The added service will help residents get connected to resources and services due to the local wildfires. Referral and resource information will be available about local emergency shelters, livestock and animal boarding options, donation locations, volunteer opportunities, welfare check referrals, food and water resources and help with health and wellness questions. This is NOT the hotline for Fire Updates or Evacuation information. Please contact or follow DFPA and DCSO for the most up-to-date wildfire information. The Resource/COVID-19 Hotline is (541) 464-6550. It is staffed from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, 7 days a week until further notice. Questions about Governor’s Statewide Rules? If you have questions or need more information on statewide mandates, guidelines or rules, go to the Governor’s COVID-19 website at https://govstatus.egov.com/or-covid-19/ or call the Business Oregon's Navigator Hotline at (833) 604-0880. For information on COVID-19 in other counties and around Oregon, call 211 or visit 211info. Who Do You Contact to Report Compliance Issues with the Governor’s Statewide Rules? Please do not call 911, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office or Douglas County Offices to report compliance issues with the Governor’s orders. The Governor has directed the State offices for Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to be the enforcement agencies responsible for ensuring restaurants, bars, and other businesses comply with COVID-related rules. For more information or to report compliance issues contact: OSHA: (800) 922-2689 or OSHA website or OLCC (503) 872-5000 or OLCC website