OSPIRG study says Jefferson County is among those with ‘red’ data
PORTLAND, Oregon (KTVZ) – A public interest research group studying state data for COVID-19 is calling for an immediate closure of eight counties, including Jefferson County, for at least two weeks for not containing the virus.
The Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) released a fact sheet Friday that analyzes the performance of the 36 Oregon counties against three critical benchmarks for COVID-19 containment: (1) daily reports from cases, measured on an adjusted per capita basis; (2) test volume, measured by test positivity during the most recent week of available data; and (3) the success of contact tracking efforts, measured by the percentage of cases that could not be traced back to a known source during the most recent week of available data.
Based on these findings, the group calls for immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 by returning eight heavily affected counties (rated “Red” or “Failed”) to close for at least two weeks.
OSPIRG also warned that 12 additional (“yellow”) counties were at risk of losing control of the virus in their communities, including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties.
“There is no reason to wait to take action: We have already seen the consequences of the delay in Texas, Arizona, Florida and California,” said Numi Lee Griffith, OSPIRG health advocate. “The increase in cases that we are seeing now is the result of infections that occurred weeks ago.
“Some businesses, especially indoor bars and dinners, cannot be operated safely, with the level of spread that we are seeing across the United States,” he continued. “Without a national ban on non-essential interstate travel, we have to close these high-risk businesses.”
NewsChannel 21 reached out to Governor Kate Brown’s office and the Oregon Health Authority Saturday for a response or comment on the report, but has yet to receive a response from either.
