By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
and STEVE LUNDEBERG/OSU News Service
Lincoln County reported its sixth COVID-19 related death Friday, a 91-year-old man who died at his residence.
That follows the county’s highest number of COVID-19 cases in more than a week and its fifth death Thursday. On Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority reported a record 389 new cases, then 275 cases Friday and warned that under current trends new daily COVID-19 cases could rise to 1,100 to 3,600 by the end of July and hospitalizations triple.
Thursday’s statewide case count is the highest total daily count since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the OHA said, attributing the recent increase in cases to workplace outbreaks and community spread. Oregon’s case total is now 11,454.
Lincoln County’s total is 362, with 14 new cases as of Wednesday but no new cases for Thursday.
Lincoln County Public Health officials had no other information on the elderly man who died Friday. The Thursday COVID-19 fatality was a 99-year-old woman who died at Avamere Rehabilitation in Newport, the third death there since July 1 after an outbreak there among residents and staff that started in mid-June.
Across Oregon there were eight more deaths reported Thursday and Friday, bringing the state’s total to 232.
Avamere Rehabilitation also reported six new COVID-19 cases among its 30 residents, bringing to 20 the number of people in quarantine. If there was good news there, Avamere is reporting that 11 of 15 staff had recovered from the virus.
The county and OHA tested all the nursing home residents and employees last week and expected the test results this week, but said Thursday that most of those have not yet returned from laboratories.
OSU returns to Newport for COVID-19 sampling
Because Newport is one of the state’s hotspots for the coronavirus, Oregon State University’s TRACE-COVID-19 project is returning to Newport on Saturday and Sunday to do a second round of testing of residents for the prevalence of coronavirus.
Oregon State started the project in Corvallis and Bend in April and May, then came to Newport June 20-21 after the large outbreak at Pacific Seafood spread into the community. TRACE-COVID-19 stands for Team-based Rapid Assessment of Community-Level Coronavirus Epidemics.
Results from the first door-to-door sampling showed that 3.4 percent of Newport residents – 34 of every 1,000 — have the coronavirus. That is a rate 17 to 34 times greater than for Corvallis and Bend, where similar sampling has occurred.
Sewage samples from three Lincoln County wastewater treatment plants also were collected and then analyzed by Oregon State researchers for genetic evidence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Samples collected in Newport on June 10-12 and June 17-19 showed “a strong signal of SARS-CoV-2,” said Tyler Radniecki of the OSU College of Engineering, a principal investigator on the sewage surveillance team.
Sewage samples taken in Yachats and Depoe Bay on June 5-7 and June 10 showed no evidence of the novel coronavirus in those communities.
Sampling is continuing in those cities – and has now been expanded to include plants in Waldport, Siletz and Lincoln City.
The sewage study in Newport involves taking samples at more than 30 areas around the city to see if evidence of the virus in different areas of the city correspond to TRACE sampling results and that of standard positive COVID-19 tests.
“The results tell us only what was occurring at the time of sampling, not what is happening today,” Radniecki said. “They should not be interpreted as an indication that any of these communities can relax their vigilance. Everyone in each of these communities should be encouraged to wear face coverings, social distance, avoid groups of people and seek medical assistance if warranted.”
During its June visit to Newport, OSU’s TRACE field workers collected samples from 336 of the households they visited, or 71 percent, across 30 neighborhoods. In all, the workers received samples from 569 people, and 13 tested positive for COVID-19.
In Newport, TRACE leaders are partnering with OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center and the OSU Extension Service. Oregon State’s work in Newport complements other sampling, testing and contact tracing assistance being given by health officials from Lincoln, Tillamook and Clatsop counties.
“The results from the a second round of TRACE sampling will provide a snap shot in time to see if the prevalence of the virus is changing and inform local residents and county and local health care providers with an immediate sense of the city’s COVID-19 wellness,” said Bob Cowen, director of the Hatfield Marine Science Center.
At each home visited by TRACE field workers, members of the household are invited to participate in the study. Those who choose to take part are asked to provide information such as their name and date of birth; to fill out a simple consent form; and to answer a few confidential, health-related questions.
Participants are given a nasal-swab test kit that they administer to themselves inside their home and their minor children if they want them to take part. The field staff wait outside, and the participants leave the completed test kits outside their front door.
The field workers leave participants with information about the project and how they will receive their results – available in seven to 10 days – as well as health guidance from Lincoln County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The TRACE study is a collaboration of the OSU colleges of Science, Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Public Health and Human Sciences, and the Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine and the OSU Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing – in partnership with county health officials.
For more information about TRACE, visit the TRACE-COVID-19 website. The site includes a list of frequently asked questions.