Douglas County To Remain In Extreme Risk Category For Two More Weeks

Douglas County is now one of two counties out of thirty-six in the state of Oregon in the extreme risk category. Douglas County joins Coos County in the extreme risk category even as the rest of the state continues to show improvement. The two counties will be in the extreme risk category from March 12 - March 28. It's unclear what is currently driving the increased cases in Douglas County, though it's possible that a more contagious variant is contributing to the uptick. Last week local health officials announced a case of the P variant was confirmed in Douglas County after a resident had traveled to Brazil where that variant is spreading widely. We are now awaiting more test results to confirm if that variant has spread to other residents in the county and should know more soon. Cases in Douglas County have started to improve the past few weeks, but are still high enough to remain in the extreme risk category. Today, (Tuesday, March 9) Douglas County announced 13 new cases. I believe we need to average under 15 new cases per day to drop back down to the high risk level. Here is the latest list of counties in each risk category: Lower Risk (13) Clatsop Crook (Moved from High) Gilliam Grant Harney (Moved from Moderate) Hood River (Moved from Moderate) Lake (Moved from Moderate) Lincoln Morrow (Moved from Moderate) Sherman Wallowa Wasco Wheeler Moderate Risk (12) Baker (Moved from Lower) Clackamas Deschutes (Moved from High) Klamath (Moved from High) Lane (Moved from High) Linn Malheur* Multnomah (Moved from High) Tillamook (Moved from Lower) Union Washington Yamhill (Moved from High) High Risk (9) Benton (Moved from Extreme) Columbia Curry (Moved from Moderate) Jackson** Jefferson (Moved from Extreme) Josephine (Moved from Extreme) Marion Polk Umatilla Extreme Risk (2) Coos Douglas *Malheur County qualifies for High Risk but is given a two-week caution period at Moderate Risk because it moved down from Extreme Risk in the last movement period. **Jackson County qualifies for Extreme Risk but is given a two-week caution period at High Risk because it moved down from Extreme Risk in the last movement period.