On Friday, Lane County submitted its application to re-open and is still awaiting word back from the state. As KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports, the public health focus remains on COVID-19 testing and contact-tracing readiness.
The 60th case of coronavirus in Lane County was confirmed after the patient recognized a tell-tale sign. Spokesman Jason Davis explains.
“Their symptoms were very mild to begin with and they had heard the little piece about the loss of taste and smell,” Davis said. “And [they] decided to get tested-- after they noticed that they had no taste or smell-- and they turned up positive.”
Davis says the patient in their 60’s is now isolated at home in Eugene/Springfield.
“That person is now not in the community spreading COVID around,” he remarked.
In keeping with the county’s Blueprint for re-opening, Davis says a pool of 60 people will be ready to perform contact tracing in the event of a “second wave” of the virus.
Lane County currently tests up to 250 people a day but that number needs to increase in order to meet re-opening criteria. Davis says medical providers are now encouraged to order the test if a patient has even mild symptoms like body aches, chills, light fever, fatigue or headache.
