Data Shows 8 Oregon Counties failing to contain COVID-19, 12 more at risk

OSPIRG calls for immediate lockdowns in hard hit rural areas.

OSPIRG

SALEM – Today OSPIRG released a factsheet analyzing the performance of Oregon’s 36 counties against 3 critical benchmarks for COVID-19 containment: (1) daily case reports, measured on a per capita adjusted basis; (2) testing volume, measured by test positivity over the most recent week of available data; and (3) success of contact tracing efforts, measured by the percentage of cases that could not be traced to a known source over the most recent week of available data.

Based on these findings, the group is calling for immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 by returning eight hard hit counties (rated “Red” or “Failing”) to lockdown for at least two weeks. OSPIRG also warned that 12 additional (“Yellow”) counties were at risk of losing control of the virus in their communities, including Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties.

“There’s no reason to wait to take action – we’ve already seen the consequences of delay in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and California,” said Numi Lee Griffith, OSPIRG’s Health Care Advocate. “The surge in cases we’re seeing now is the result of infections that occurred weeks ago. Some businesses – bars, and indoor dining especially – cannot be safely operated with the level of spread we’re seeing throughout the US,” she continued, “without a nationwide ban on non-essential interstate travel, we need to shut down these high risk businesses.”

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OSPIRG is an advocate for the public interest. We speak out for a healthier, safer world in which we’re freer to pursue our own individual well-being and the common good.