Per Harmeet Kaur | CNN
Oregon officials say there is likely to be a “super-spreader action” behind two recent outbreaks of Covid-19 in the state.
The action in question: A person went to work consciously while he was ill and then tested positive for the virus, Douglas County officials said last week.
Two separate Covid-19 outbreaks now date back to that person, officials said. Seven people died as a result of the first outbreak and hundreds of people were forced to isolate themselves from the second.
“One of these outbreaks has caused seven deaths, and the other recent outbreak has placed more than 300 people / families in quarantine,” a Douglas County government statement said on Dec. 17. “We can’t even imagine the huge remorse these people are feeling right now and we sympathize with them.”
County officials referred to the incident as a “propagation action,” and called it “one of the most troubling issues we are facing right now.” It is a twist on the term “superextension event,” which refers to large face-to-face meetings, such as weddings, parties, or religious services, where the presence of an infected person can potentiate a viral outbreak.
They also urged people to stay home if they show symptoms and to follow other safety protocols.
Officials did not share the infected person’s workplace even when they went to work while he was sick.
Douglas County, which is in southern Oregon and has a population of about 111,000, has seen 1,315 cases of Covid-19 in total as of Tuesday. This includes people who have tested positive for the virus, as well as people who are supposed to be positive.
Thirty-seven people have died of Covid-19 in the county and there are currently nine patients hospitalized with the virus, according to the latest county data.
Last week, Douglas County was among the 29 Oregon counties that state officials considered had an “extreme risk” of spreading the virus.
Oregon has reported approximately 105,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 1,300 deaths as of Tuesday, and infections have been rising since November.