Coronavirus-Infected People Return to Work and Help Promote Record-Breaking Case Counts in Umatilla County

Umatilla County this week averaged 44 cases per day for coronavirus every day, as the county’s highest health authorities cite sick employee return to work as a major factor in worker outbreaks. Saw one of the biggest surges in the case of. ..

County commissioners said some people also refused to wear masks.

With just under 78,000 residents, the county has seen 17% of Oregon’s total cases in the last 7 days, despite accounting for only 2% of the state’s total population.

The surge in cases is due to the state authorities reporting the highest two days of COVID-19 cases in two days, with 375 days on Thursday and 344 days on Friday.

Among other counties, Umatilla Highest number of cases per day 88 Thursdays throughout the state this week. On a daily average, the county is just behind Multnomah County and just before Washington County, both with more than 500,000 inhabitants.

Joseph Fiumala, director of health at Umatila County, said workplace infections are rising rapidly.

Employees with mild symptoms are paying rent when work resumes and are returning to work to support their families, he said. They unintentionally caused small outbreaks throughout the county, he said.

“In most cases, people don’t think they have the virus,” Fiumala said. “They think it’s an allergy. The symptoms are so small that they can work for a few days, such as a runny nose or a sore throat, and then get tested and return to positive.”

The Ramweston Potato Factory in Hermiston experienced the county’s largest workplace outbreak. State authorities ever Reported 72 cases related to the factory..

Fiumala said the factory’s closed workshops and their “favorable climate” help spread the virus. A food processing plant, equipped with the low temperature and active ventilation system necessary to prevent pollution Causes outbreaks of multiple coronaviruses According to experts, in the past few weeks due to these conditions.

Umatilla has become one of eight local counties on Governor Kate Brown’s “watch list” on Friday due to the spread of the “warning level” of the coronavirus.

“If the county does not feel the recession rapidly, it will be followed by restrictive measures such as business closures and stricter rally restrictions,” the Governor’s Office said in a statement.

Tracking contacts across Umatilla County remained manageable within 24 hours, but Fiumara said it has become much harder these days and county authorities have called for help from the Oregon Health Department.

Dr Paul Cieslac, state medical director for epidemics, said seven health officials were dispatched to the county. He called the county’s increase in incidents “very worried.”

Cieslak said this week that state-wide outbreaks often go back to “multi-family gatherings” such as graduations and birthday parties. The situation became even more distressing as the people of Oregon traveled on the weekend of July 4 and increased the risk of infection, he said.

“A year ago, at the moment, I was able to do these activities when I graduated on July 4,” said Cieslak. “But in the age of COVID, it’s not wise. These will help us count up our cases and rethink whether we can safely restart the state.”

Cieslak replied “absolutely” when asked at the press conference whether to cancel the holiday weekend plan.

As part of efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Governor announced this week a new state-wide rule requiring Oregonians over the age of 12 to wear face masks in indoor public spaces.

“We don’t need to shut down the business again, as other states are doing now,” Brown said in a statement. “If you want to open a local shop or restaurant, cover your face when you’re in a public place.”

George Murdock, commissioner for Umatilla County, who oversees the county’s response to the virus, said wearing masks is now a politically controversial topic in the county.

He said that not wearing a mask was a sort of “mark of honor”. “We are trying to dispel that idea.”

Initially confident that the county was capable of handling COVID-19 challenges, Murdock became more concerned as the number of incidents increased.

Reducing the total count is the only way the county can feel confident in its ability to flatten a curve.

“We went for quite a few months,” Murdock said. “I remember when I decided if I could see more than 100 cases. And we went to such a month. And now, boom, we have 500 in a very short period of time. I think no one will be satisfied until the trend is reversed.”

-Blythe Doll

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541-660-9844

Yuta

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