[Updated 9/17/20, 1:30pm]- Linn County Emergency Management officials received information late this morning that the positive test result received for a shelter resident on Wednesday, September 16th, was in error. A second test performed on the individual, at a different facility, confirmed the negative result. Linn County Public Health officials are investigating the reason for the false positive result.
Original Story: Linn County Emergency Management officials disclosed Wednesday that one individual who was sheltering at the Linn County Expo Center tested positive for COVID-19. They say the person is completely asymptomatic and was being tested as a normal precaution before being relocated to another facility.
Officials also said that all staff and volunteers who had close contact with the individual are being notified. Officials say the person was housed in an area of the shelter that significantly limited interaction with other guests.
The Linn County Expo Center was converted into an evacuation shelter for wildland fire victims and livestock on Tuesday, September 8th. Organizers say Stringent procedures were put in place to prevent transmission of communicable diseases, including COVID-19.
Preventative measures included mandatory face coverings, daily temperature checks, hand sanitizing stations, social distancing, regular cleaning and sanitization of common areas and registration of guests and volunteers.
438 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Linn County since the start of the pandemic. 13 county residents have died.
Across the state, 29,856 people have contracted COVID-19. There have been 521 deaths associated with the virus in Oregon.
Copyright 2020, KLCC
