Douglas County COVID-19 Update For Tuesday, January 26
(Douglas County, Ore.) Douglas County COVID-19 Test Results: As of 12:00 pm Today, Tuesday, January 26, 2021, there are NINE (9) people with new positive test results, ONE (1) presumptive that has moved to positive with a positive test result and ONE (1) death to report since our noon case update yesterday. The total number of cases (people with positive test results and presumptive) in Douglas County is now at 1,811*. Currently, there are ELEVEN (11) Douglas County COVID-19 patients that are being hospitalized, nine locally and two out-of-the-area. Our Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team, under the direction of the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, who administer our local public health program and oversee the work by Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Douglas County Public Health Officer and Douglas Public Health Network, continue to devote all resources available to our local COVID response. COVID-19 Related Death of a Douglas County Resident Our Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, has confirmed the death of another Douglas County resident related to the COVID-19 virus. Our forty-seventh death is a 96-year-old woman who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday, January 15, 2021 and passed away on Monday, January 25, 2021. In the interest of privacy for the loved ones of this resident, no additional information will be released. Each death related to COVID-19 is painful for all Douglas County residents, and a sad reminder of the terrible impact COVID-19 has had in our local communities. The Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Dr. Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT team extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to all family members, friends, relatives, co-workers and community members of those who have passed after contracting this deadly virus. Douglas County Will Stay in Current State Risk Level for Two More Weeks The good news for Douglas County residents and businesses is that will remain in our current State mandated risk level. The State of Oregon notified Douglas County yesterday, that we will not be moving out of the current level based on our COVID-19 case count over the last two weeks. Douglas County will remain in the High Risk Level for the next two-week period, beginning Friday, January 29, 2021 and continuing through Thursday, February 11, 2021. The high risk level allows ALL of our local business the opportunity to be OPEN, with some restrictions and limitations on capacity. We wanted to make note that as part of the new state COVID risk and safety mandates instituted in December 2020, Senior Centers and Hookah are not allowed to operate regardless of the risk level in their county. We want to continue to thank our residents and businesses for staying within the recommended guidelines, and for making good decisions in order for our communities to stay open. The new risk level does not affect the ability of faith based organizations and local school districts to offer in-person services and classes. They are able to make decisions for their own congregations and educational programs. Douglas County Case Counts Still Concerning While we have managed to stay in the high risk level, our positive case count is still concerning. For the past two weeks, we reported 220 new COVID cases. During recent case investigations, we found that almost one-third of our cases in the last two weeks have been linked to two large local faith based organization outbreaks. These outbreaks have had a dramatic impact on our communities, our businesses and our residents. We do want to recognize and applaud the efforts of the majority of our local faith based organizations for proving that you can provide a wide range of safe and COVID-free in-person and online options for their congregations. Of particular note, we have not had any large outbreaks related to the gyms, restaurants or bars that have re-opened over the last month with our State mandated risk level. Again, we want to send out a kudos to all of businesses that are working hard to keep COVID-19 from entering or effecting their ability to stay open during these trying times. The rest of the recent cases are the unfortunate consequence of residents who continue to host celebrations and parties, travel to COVID hot spot areas, invite people to visit from out of the area and attended in-person unprotected congregate social gatherings where COVID-19 safety measures were not being followed. Please, for the sake of our local businesses, services and residents, we encourage you to gauge your risk level, and make the best choice in order protect yourself and those around you. Local Cases Being Supported in Isolation and Quarantine Currently, DPHN is supporting 147 cases in isolation, as well as another 331 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 astounding 478 total contacts and cases in isolation or quarantine. This number represents a snapshot of the significant amount of work being done locally to help control the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION Where Do I Get More Information About the COVID-19 Vaccine? If you believe you are eligible as a part of CDC and OHA’s Phase 1a COVID-19 vaccine population, or you are a local health care provider that would like to sign up as a vaccinator, or you would like to sign up to be a volunteer, you can get more information by emailing DPHN’s new COVID-19 vaccine email at: vaccines@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org. DPHN will do their best to respond with the most current information available, sign up health care providers as vaccinators, schedule volunteers, and connect those that are eligible for the vaccine with those that have the vaccine, as soon as the vaccine becomes available. Additionally, we encourage you to contact your Doctor, Physician, Nurse Practitioner or the Medical Office you frequent, and encourage them to sign up as a vaccinator, so you might be able go to them for the vaccine once it is available. Shared from the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians. If you are a member of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, please contact them for information on their COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs at (541) 672-9405 or log onto: https://www.cowcreek-nsn.gov/public-health/. Shared from the Roseburg VA. The Roseburg VA Health Care System is setting up appointments for veteran patients to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. To qualify for the current round of COVID-19 vaccinations at the VA, veterans must be 75 or older, or be homeless, or be frontline essential workers, hemodialysis or organ transplant patients, or chemotherapy patients receiving care at a clinic or hospital. For more information, call (541) 440-1000 or log onto: https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/. Vaccine Distribution to Local Public Health in Douglas County The latest round of vaccines we have received have all been deployed to our approved local health care providers (vaccinators) in Douglas County. Those approved vaccinators are quickly working to vaccinate the current identified list of ELIGIBLE Douglas County residents in accordance with the priority group guidelines and criteria set by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Currently, vaccinators are working to vaccinate those that wish to receive the vaccine in the identified priority populations in Phase 1A (Groups 1-4): which includes health care workers, skilled nursing and memory care personnel, adult foster care, hospice programs, corrections personnel, home health workers, homebound medically or disabled, EMS and first responders. As of today, Monday, January 25, 2021, OHA has added the first group of Phase 1B to the list of eligible residents, which includes: early learning workers, child care providers, K-12 educators and staff. (Click here for Oregon's most up-to-date list of eligible residents). COVID-19 Vaccine Availability: Still High Demand and Low Supply We know that there is a lot of conflicting reports about the COVID-19 vaccine and when it will be available. At this time, it continues to be a low vaccine supply and high demand issue, that we have no control over. And, even though Federal and State Health Officials might release or issue new eligibility guidelines, it does not mean that the vaccine is available for everyone that is eligible in Douglas County. To date, we have not received enough vaccines to vaccinate all residents in the current eligible groups. But, that does not mean that we are not prepared to vaccinate our residents. DPHN has signed up over 42 local health professionals/offices, as COVID-19 vaccinators that have locations throughout Douglas County. Our team and ever-growing list of vaccinators are ready, able and willing to vaccinate, all we need is the vaccine. Aviva Health and cooperators held the first mass vaccine clinic for eligible residents in Douglas County on Saturday, January 23, 2021, and they plan to organize and execute more clinics as vaccines become available. We continue to submit requests to OHA daily for more vaccines to be sent to Douglas County, so we can move forward with vaccinations for everyone that is eligible. Please know that if you want the vaccine, we want you to have it, and are working 24/7 to make that happen. Rest assured, that as soon as we start to receive more vaccines, we will begin to systematically offer them to eligible populations in an orderly, fair and equitable manner. We Continue to Encourage You to Protect You and Your Family We are not able to predict when we will receive more vaccines, or when State guidelines might change or when we can start to resume our normal lives, so we continue encourage everyone, for the sake of our local businesses, services and residents, to gauge your risk level, and make the best choice in order protect yourself and those around you. We have provided education on the widely proven COVID-19 safety measures, and encourage you to limit your contact with others not from your household, stay home if you are sick, and wear face coverings where recommended. Click here, for a graphic on how to protect you and your family from the spread of COVID-19. We know how important family, businesses and faith are to you, so we ask that you consider all options available in order to eliminate and minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus in our communities in order to help protect the ones you love, the businesses you love and the places you love to go. New School Case Announced Shared from the Winston Dillard School District. In a notice released Sunday, January 24, 2021, Winston Middle School Principal David Welker, announced that they were notified by DPHN and Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Douglas County Public Health Officer, of a positive COVID-19 case at Winston Middle School in Winston. WMS officials have been very proactive in their approach in dealing with this event to help mitigate the spread of the virus. Below is a copy of the notice that was released: IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL 8th GRADERS: Eighth grade students attending school on site at Winston Middle School are to remain home this week and work on google classroom. We were notified by Douglas Public Health Network (DPHN) and Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, our Douglas County Public Health Officer, that we have had someone at Winston Middle School test positive for COVID-19. We are working very closely with local public health and The Oregon Health Authority to notify parents of 8th graders attending Winston Middle School on-site asking them to quarantine for 10 days and monitor 14 days for symptoms. Eighth grade students may return to school on-site beginning Monday February 1. Eighth grade students are to attend classes on their regular schedule using google classroom. Should you need to pick up your Chromebook to work this week at home, please contact the school to make arrangements. 7th grade students may attend school on-site normally tomorrow. Parents opting to keep their student home should contact the office to excuse their student. Students should complete their classes to the extent possible on google classroom. If you or your child need to quarantine, you will hear from DPHN within the next 48 hours. If you have concerns or questions about COVID-19 or what quarantine consists of, please call the Douglas Public Health Network hotline at 541-464-6550, 7 days a week between 8-5:00 pm. Quarantined 8th graders should not be at school for any reason, including open gym. Please call the office should you have any questions. Thank you for your ongoing support. Be well. David Welker, Principal Winston Middle School For reference: The Oregon Health Authority issues a weekly COVID-19 report that publishes data on K-12 schools with in-person instruction, child/day care centers, businesses and care facilities that meet their outbreak criteria. As of last week, OHA’s policy related to school outbreaks is to report outbreaks with 1 or more cases in school settings at any place of learning for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, or a subset, with at least 30 students enrolled. Case counts includes employees, staff, volunteers or students at the school. According to OHA, the notice is to inform the public of potential COVID-19 exposure and to provide transparency surrounding COVID-19 in schools. School is defined as any place of learning for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, or a subset, with at least 30 students enrolled. This includes, but is not limited to, public schools, private schools, parochial and charter schools. Staff is defined as any person who works full time or part-time at the school, regardless of their position. A volunteer is defined as any person who volunteers onsite. Local COVID-19 Testing and Facebook Live Douglas County COVID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Clinics Due to widely available COVID-19 testing opportunities in Douglas County, your local public health authority and DPHN have decided to step-back our drive-through testing clinics to one day a week for the time being. If needs increase, we are prepared to increase testing to 2-3 times a week again. As we have reported before, we were one of the first counties in the state to do a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic, and we have done 2-3 clinics a week since March 2020 in Roseburg, as well as drive-through testing clinics in Reedsport. DPHN has also been part of increasing the availability and types of testing at multiple sites and locations across the county, also leading the state in rapid testing availability. The next drive-through testing clinic will be Friday, January 29, 2021, in Roseburg. 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 can contact the Sutherlin Aviva Health Clinic at (541) 459-3788. Facebook Live with Dr. Bob Join us Tonight, Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 6:00 pm for the next Facebook Live with Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, the Douglas County Public Health Officer. The show is hosted by DPHN on the DPHN Facebook page. Residents are encouraged to submit their questions during the live show or can email 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 the live shows. Oregon & Federal COVID-19 INFORMATION Oregon and Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Information Again, it is important to note that we are not the ones setting the guidelines for vaccines eligibility or distribution. We are following the current priority group guidelines and criteria set by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA). We understand that our residents have many questions, so do we. Like you, we are patiently awaiting more vaccines and more information. If you have questions or need more information about the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon, check out the resources listed below. In the meantime, we ask that you be patient and continue to follow the well documented recommendations for COVID health and safety. • OHA COVID-19 Vaccine website: https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov/ • OHA’s Latest COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Chart Link as of 1/15/2021: https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le3527A.pdf • General Questions: COVID19.vaccine@dhsoha.state.or.us or call 211 or (971) 673-2411 • COVID-19 FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About the COVID Vaccine in Oregon Douglas County (541) 672-3311 Douglas Public Health Network (541) 440-3571 Oregon's COVID-19 Case Information OHA reports new cases daily on their website at www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus. OHA reports include presumptive COVID-19 cases in their total case numbers. The DCCRT separates the number of people with new positive test results and new presumptives, and uses OHA’s definition of presumptive as those 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. DPHN performs their epidemiologic investigations, identifying individuals who test positive, as well as those that may have had close contact with individuals that have tested positive while advising and supporting quarantine and isolation. OHA has chosen to no longer report negative test results or recovered cases, so we will no longer be reporting this data in our daily update. Please contact the OHA directly for more information. Oregon and Federal COVID-19 Guidelines and Compliance Information For more information on the State of Oregon and Federal COVID-19 response go to Oregon Health Authority or U.S. Centers for Disease Control or 211Info. If you have questions or need more information on the current statewide guidelines and risk levels, go to the State’s Building a Safe and Strong Oregon website or the Governor’s COVID-19 website or call the Business Oregon's Navigator Hotline at (833) 604-0880. Please do not call 911, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office or Douglas County Offices to report compliance issues with the State of Oregon, OHA or 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 the current State COVID guidelines. If you have concerns, questions or wish to report compliance issues contact these state agencies directly: OSHA: (800) 922-2689 or OSHA website OLCC (503) 872-5000 or OLCC website Local COVID-19 RESOURCES Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information to Douglas County residents since March 8, 2020. Local Online Access to Updates Stay up to date with accurate and local COVID-19 information in Douglas County on the Douglas County Government website or DCGOV Facebook page or the DPHN website or DPHN Facebook page. Free Local e-Newsletter Subscription You can also sign up for the Douglas County e-Newsletter that publishes and sends out the daily update to our subscription base for free. You can sign up for the Douglas County e-Newsletter at www.co.douglas.or.us. Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, DPHN and the DCCRT have been working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely information to Douglas County residents since March 8, 2020. Douglas County COVID-19 Hotline (541) 464-6550 Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners and DPHN continue to offer a local resource hotline for Douglas County residents for COVID-19. The hotline provides answer to frequently asked questions, basic information and referrals to resources and services. The Hotline is staffed from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, 7 days a week. Douglas County COVID-19 Vaccine Information For answers to questions about vaccine eligibility, availability and volunteer opportunities, please email vaccines@douglaspublichealthnetwork.org