PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Health Authority on Wednesday said it is working with local authorities to investigate “an increase in COVID-19 cases tied to an outbreak at specific locations of a business.”
The state public health agency said the business operates in the Portland metro area’s tri-county region and the Willamette Valley, but gave no other specific details about the business or outbreak locations. OHA said it will release more details in the coming days. KGW reached out to the agency for more information, but OHA refused to provide more specifics.
OHA also announced 71 new coronavirus on Wednesday, 41 of which were in Multnomah County. Dr. Jennifer Vines, the lead health officer for the tri-county region, said some of the newly reported cases in Multnomah County, which is aiming for a June 12 Phase 1 reopening, are tied to the outbreak.
There is no indication the outbreak poses any significant risk to surrounding communities, OHA said.
It's not the first outbreak tied to COVID-19 in Oregon since the pandemic began. An Albany frozen fruit plant was cited for not following social distancing protocols after several employees tested positive for the virus. At the Oregon State Penitentiary, 27 staff members and 116 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, including one who died last week.
Officials expect more positive test results to be announced in the coming days as a result of the newly discovered outbreak.
The percentage of positive test results in Oregon has been declining over the last month and a half. This has occurred as the number of tests completed in the state have increased. The OHA said 1.7% of people tested the week of May 18-24 tested positive for the coronavirus, the lowest percentage during the pandemic.
Oregon has had a total of 4,038 coronavirus cases, including presumptive cases, as of Wednesday morning. It’s not clear how many of those are active infections. While people presumed to have the virus have not yet tested positive, they have shown COVID-19 symptoms and had close contact with a confirmed case.
A total of 116,901 people have been tested for COVID-19, with 112,954 people (96.6%) testing negative.
