PORTLAND, Ore. — At least 18 more health care workers in the metro area have tested positive for COVID-19.
Providence Health & Services said Monday that 10 of its employees have contracted COVID-19. Legacy Health confirmed that eight of its workers have come down with virus that has swept the globe.
That brings to 31 the total number of known health care workers in Oregon who have contracted the virus. Earlier in the day, Oregon Health Sciences University said 12 of its health care workers tested positive.
A Linn County health care worker, whose employer is unknown, has also tested positive for COVID-19.
The numbers came out on the same day that health care unions went public stressing the dangers faced by frontline nurses, doctors and other health care workers treating COVID-19 patients. The shortage of basic personal protective equipment like face masks and gowns and gloves increases the risks.
The shortage developed in part when the Chinese factories that manufacture them were closed due to the outbreak there.
Gov. Kate Brown and others called on the federal government to provide safety equipment out of its stockpiles.
“People are our priority,” Dr. Danny Jacobs, OHSU president. “Our workforce deserves more.”
PeaceHealth Systems Services, which operates hospitals in Vancouver and Eugene, reported it doesn’t have any employees confirmed as having COVID-19 as a result of contact with infected patients.
The total number of infected health care workers remains a mystery. Kaiser Permanente has declined to release that number.
OHSU Hospital has ramped up its in-housing coronavirus testing in the last two weeks, which could account for part of the spike.
Employees at OHSU Hospital have been able to access drive-through testing if they had symptoms of coronavirus. Weeks ago, a hospital spokeswoman said leaders hoped to expand that capacity.
On March 16, the hospital had only one patient with confirmed COVID-19, but had tested 23 others and were waiting on results.
Monday, Jacobs said that the hospital has 21 COVID-19 patients, with 18 of those tested on site.
The number could be higher at Providence. It hasn’t tested all of its workers, a Providence spokesman said. The company checks the temperature of each employee upon their arrival, a spokesman said. It proceeds to COVID-19 testing only if an employee show multiple symptoms.
Providence has about 23,000 employees in Oregon. "It’s important to note that our caregivers may have been exposed to the virus outside of work, " Providence said in a statement. “There is no way to directly connect contracting the virus to the work setting.”
The shortage of safety equipment is expected to grow more dire as a surge of COVID-19 patients is expected in coming weeks. The number of cases is already on the rise.
You can reach Jeff Manning at 503-294-7606 or jmanning@oregonian.com.
This article was originally published by The Oregonian/OregonLive, one of more than a dozen news organizations throughout the state sharing their coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak to help inform Oregonians about this evolving health issue.