Researchers from Oregon State University say a weekend of door-to-door testing for the coronavirus in Bend shows that community has a very low rate of COVID-19.
Teams spread out in pairs across 30 neighborhoods, knocking on doors and offering free coronavirus tests. About two-thirds of those who were contacted agreed to participate. OSU said 615 people from a total of 342 households were tested.
In the end, nobody who was tested turned out to have the virus.
That doesn’t mean there are no cases in Bend. As of Wednesday, Deschutes County had 134 positive results overall, and no deaths. OSU researchers estimate about one in one thousand Bend residents is infected with the coronavirus.
“While this low level of prevalence is good news, residents should continue to act with caution,” said project co-leader Jeff Bethel, an associate professor in OSU’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences.
A multi-week prevalence study in Corvallis yielded similar results as Bend. Researchers will conduct one final round of door-to-door testing in Corvallis this weekend.
