Lincoln County has reported its second COVID-19 related death, as the effort to slow the spread of the virus there continues.
The latest death was a 63-year-old man who died June 23 at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, nearly two weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus. Previously, a 68-year-old man died June 16 and tested positive posthumously a day later, according to the county.
Public health officials have not said whether either of Lincoln County’s two deaths from COVID-19 are related to any of the workplace outbreaks in the area, including one that affected dozens of people connected to a seafood processing facility in Newport.
Over the past three weeks, the county has gone from just a handful of positive cases to nearly 300. Face coverings are now required in indoor public places, and some towns within the county have lowered the limit on public gathering size back down to 10.
The county has hired more contact tracers with a goal of reaching out to non-English speakers to inform them of their possible exposure to someone who’s tested positive for the virus.
