Oregon and the nation are in the midst of a COVID surge. State health officials said this week 17.5% of tests are coming back positive.
For the most part, health officials are relying on wastewater testing to track COVID-19.
Lane County Senior Public Health officer Dr. Patrick Leudtke said sewage tests in Eugene and Florence show a level of positivity similar to last winter’s cases.
“Heads up to everybody. COVID is circulating again and a new vaccine will come out this fall that will help you get some protection,” he said. “But, we're gonna have more cases, unfortunately. How many we don't know, but we're going to have more.”
Luedtke says only about one in four Oregonians who were eligible got last year’s booster.
“Immunity decays and you can be infected by the same darn virus that you got a year and a half ago, which is very frustrating,” he said.
Luedtke said, so far, there hasn’t been a surge in hospitalizations for COVID in Lane County. He said there are a few people currently hospitalized locally with COVID.
“I suspect we’re going to see a significant increase in cases over the next few weeks,” he said.

Lincoln County Public Health has put out a notice that its wastewater testing is showing high levels of COVID 19.
“Currently, the amount of virus in our wastewater is higher than during the Omicron waves in 2021 and 2022. Samaritan Health System is reporting an increase in the number of people they see testing positive for COVID-19. This, along with the wastewater data, shows us there is currently an increase in community transmission of the virus,” said a news release from Lincoln County Public Health.
Click the Listen button below to hear more from our interview with Dr. Patrick Luedtke: