Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday said state health officials are concerned they lack enough protective gear for medical workers and warned that rural communities believe they may have inadequate hospital staff if the coronavirus continues its spread.

In a letter Tuesday to Vice President Mike Pence, Brown also asked for “flexibility” from federal guidance about who can be tested for the potentially deadly virus.

The request "is a recognition that what we have in place may not be sufficient as the situation evolves,” said Robb Cowie, a spokesman for the Oregon Health Authority.

But state officials, who have acknowledged the total number of infections in Oregon already could be in the hundreds, wouldn’t say what specific changes in testing criteria they want.

Through Tuesday afternoon, the state had tested 32 people, with three people found to be infected by coronavirus and 29 people deemed negative. Samples from 18 others have been submitted to the state lab for analysis Wednesday.

Brown’s letter to Pence comes a day after she and other governors held a conference call with the vice president. Pence asked states to follow-up in writing by outlining their requests to battle coronavirus, and he announced Tuesday that “any American can get tested” if a doctor suspects the virus.

Brown didn’t ask the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send more tests beyond the roughly 1,500 Oregon already has.

But she did urge the release of protective equipment for health care workers from the federal government’s strategic national stockpile.

She called for release of 400,000 sets of specialized medical masks, gowns and gloves, plus an unspecified number of full-body Tyvek suits and disposable plastic linings for ambulances. She also requested 75 to 100 ventilators.

The state could spend as much as $7 million to $10 million per month in state and federal money to battle coronavirus, Brown wrote, and requested that federal officials help backfill as much of those expenses as possible.

“Significant resources and funding will be needed in the days and months ahead to respond to and contain this outbreak," Brown wrote to Pence. “As the situation evolves, so too do our needs.”

While state officials believe they currently have enough equipment, “we are concerned that we do not have a sufficient supply” if the virus spreads more widely.

“I want to make sure that our health professionals on the front lines have the equipment and personnel they need to treat individuals with the coronavirus,” Brown said in a 4-minute online video.

Brown’s letter also noted that officials have heard “significant concerns” from small rural hospitals and health practices about potential workforce shortages.

Brown said state officials are separately identifying where they could “quarantine" people who have no place to isolate themselves as the virus spreads.

As for testing, state officials since Friday have been following CDC guidelines about who should be checked.

They’ve tested individuals with symptoms who traveled to counties with outbreaks and individuals with symptoms who have been in close contact with someone already identified with COVID-19. The state also has tested people who have been hospitalized with severe respiratory illnesses but no confirmed diagnosis.

Adding testing flexibility would allow state officials “to better assess the burden of the disease" in Oregon, Brown wrote in her letter to Pence.

Although the state’s own internal guidelines acknowledge the testing guidelines “aren’t set in stone,” they officially want flexibility.

Cowie, the health authority spokesman, said state officials “want the ability, as situations arise, in a local community, to do additional testing” -- particularly when county health officials are calling for it.

Although the state didn’t provide specifics, such a scenario could conceivably include vulnerable populations who aren’t necessarily in a close, 6-foot proximity to an infected person, but nonetheless are in the general vicinity -- such as those living in a nursing home.

“As this situation develops," Brown said in her online video, “we are also exploring options to make sure every Oregon who needs a COVID-19 test can be tested quickly.”

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt