March 14th COVID-19 Update

DAILY LOCAL UPDATE COVID-19

Joint Release from Douglas County Board of Commissioners and Douglas Public Health Network

(Douglas County, Ore.)   Your Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Douglas County Public Health Official, Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, officials from Douglas Public Health Network (DPHN), as well as leaders in our local health community are working hard to cooperatively provide accurate and timely COVID-19 information to Douglas County residents.

As of today, Oregon has reported 32 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, spanning across 11 counties.  The latest cases were reported in Washington, Clackamas, Linn and Deschutes Counties. There have been no deaths reported in Oregon and there is still only one presumptive case in Douglas County. 

As a part of our continued efforts to provide accurate and timely information to our residents, DPHN hosted a Facebook Live COVID-19 Town Hall – Q&A event on Friday, March 13.  Hundreds of viewers tuned into watch the nearly hour long virtual town hall where local physician, health care leader and Douglas County Public Health Officer, Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer, answered dozens of questions in real time from local residents.  Questions were asked about which groups are most at risk, what can we do to protect ourselves and support others in the community, and what is happening with testing locally.  The town hall event has recorded over 11.2K views and residents can watch a recorded version of the Facebook Live COVID-19 Town Hall by visiting DPHN’s Facebook Page.  The plan is to conduct more of these virtual town halls, as large gatherings are not recommended at this time.

In addition to providing responses to residents Friday night, Dr. Dannenhoffer addressed a number of frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) about COVID-19.  DPHN officials have compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning the novel coronavirus. This list is being updated as new information comes available.  To see the full COVID-19 – FAQ list visit DPHN’s website.

Douglas County Health officials, in cooperation with local health organization partners opened a local call center on March 13 for people with questions about COVID-19. The call center, one of the few offered in Oregon, is staffed with volunteer health care professionals who can answer questions from the public. The call center has received over three dozen calls since opening.  We encourage local residents to utilize the call center to answer COVID-19 related questions and concerns.  The call center will run from 8:00 am–7:30 pm, seven days a week until further notice. The call center number is (541) 464-6550.

DPHN officials would like to remind the public, that if you are feeling reasonably well, you might not need to visit a clinic or hospital, which allows providers to focus on patients who most need care. If you are very ill or having trouble breathing, call your healthcare provider and only call 911 if it is an actual emergency. 

We encourage residents to follow the recommended guidelines for the public exposure, which are to maintain a social distance of six feet, maintain good hygiene (especially frequent hand washing), and to stay home if you are sick. Again, we want to reiterate that those that are the most vulnerable to the severe conditions related to COVID-19, such as the elderly and people with a history of health conditions need to take extra precautions to stay healthy and safe. 

Additional resources and guidance are available from the websites of the Douglas Public Health Network, Oregon Health Authority, Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and by calling or logging onto 211Info.