(Salem, OR) — On Thursday August 6th, Governor Kate Brown announced that Lake County has succeeded in reducing the spread of COVID-19 sufficiently enough to be removed from the County Watch List. This brings the total number of counties on the Watch List to nine.
“Like last week with Union and Lincoln Counties, I want to applaud Lake County officials and community members for their work in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in their area. You are another example of how we can control the spread of this disease by working together,” said Governor Brown.
The County Watch List allows the state to prioritize resources and assistance to counties that are seeing the broadest community spread of COVID-19. When a county is placed on the Watch List, the Oregon Health Authority increases monitoring and communication, and deploys additional technical assistance and resources, such as epidemiological support, case investigation, and contact tracing help. Counties remain on the Watch List for a minimum of three weeks and until their sporadic case rates drop below the Watch List thresholds (sporadic case rates of 50 or more per 100,000 people, and more than five sporadic cases, in the last two weeks).
Marion County—which was added to the Watch List last week—recently completed investigations that identified sources for cases that were reported last week as sporadic. Out of an abundance of caution, Marion County will remain on the Watch List to monitor for any increases in community spread.
Governor Brown added, “I want to remind all Oregonians that this disease is something that, for the time being, we must learn to live with. This means, your continued work to protect yourselves and others—wearing a face covering, watching your distance, and washing your hands—is of the utmost importance.”
The complete County Watch List now includes the following nine counties: Baker, Hood River, Jefferson, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Umatilla, and Wasco.