High COVID-19 case numbers reported over the weekend pushed Oregon to 50,448 cases of the virus. Oregon Health officials reported 874 new coronavirus cases Sunday. That's the second-highest daily total of the pandemic following a record 988 cases reported on Saturday.
Last week Gov. Kate Brown announced she was putting five Oregon counties on a two-week pause for social gatherings.
Speaking on a Friday show on KLCC, Senior Public Health Officer at Lane County Public Health Dr. Patrick Luedtke said hopefully these new restrictions will remind people to take precautions to help slow the spread. “We are certainly at a point on the curve that we don’t want to be on, and we also know that those general risk factors that raise the opportunities for infections are ever present and some of them increase,” said Luedtke. He added that “now the rains have come and the temperatures are cooler and we are all going to be inside breathing the same air and this is a respiratory virus, and we all need to be careful. So I hope it’s a wake-up call to many.”
Douglas County reported their highest daily total of COVID-19 cases Sunday reporting 25 new confirmed and presumptive infections. The Douglas County Covid Response Team says they are seeing an exponential growth in unrelated cases, a trend they say is disconcerting. They also note the tremendous economic impact on households, schools and workplaces.
482 people in Douglas County have become infected and 10 Douglas County residents have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Oregon’s high numbers come as the U.S. set another record for the daily number of coronavirus cases Saturday, reporting more than 126,000 positive cases and more than 1,000 deaths. Officials urge people to continue to practice hand washing, maintain safe social-distancing and wear masks.
Do you have questions about COVID-19?
KLCC will have another live in-studio show with Dr. Luedtke on Friday, Nov.13 at 3:30. You can submit your own questions for Dr. Luedtke by calling 503-877-3198. You’ll be asked to leave a voicemail message and we may play it on the air. You can also submit questions in writing via email at news@klcc.org. Please put "Friday Show" in the subject line.
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