Seven new cases are identified, bringing the total to 14 in Oregon.

As health officials identified seven new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, doubling the statewide total, Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Oregon to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.

The declaration “gives the Oregon Health Authority and the Office of Emergency Management all the resources at our state’s disposal to stem the spread of this disease,” Brown said during a Sunday morning press conference.

She said they would “devote all available state resources toward containing this disease.”

The state of emergency will last 60 days and may be extended until the threat of the virus is contained.

State agencies issued COVID-19 guidance to Oregon schools and universities on Sunday as well, recommending against closing campuses and schools where no COVID-19 cases are present.

The seven new presumptive positive cases bring the statewide total to 14. There is one case in Douglas County, one in Marion County and five in Washington County, all from close contact. Officials said none was related to international travel.

Four of the infected had contact with someone already infected, and the three others appeared to have acquired the virus within their communities where the virus was evidently present.

State officials also said that state lawmakers on Monday will consider an emergency $5 million request to fight the virus.

“I expect there to be resource stresses around local public health all across the state," said Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. "In many cases it could certainly be worse in rural areas, but I think there will be challenges even in our most urban counties.”

The emergency declaration allows OHA to activate reserves of emergency volunteer health care professionals, expand testing locations, expand telemedicine so people can be screened, evaluated and treated with going into a clinic, and add auxiliary medical professionals to support local health authorities in identifying and containing new COVID-19 cases.

It will provide tools to mobilize an “aggressive outreach and prevention strategy” for Oregonians most at risk: older adults, people with preexisting medical conditions such as heart, lung or kidney disease, and the homeless and people who are vulnerable in other ways, health officials said.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum cautioned people to be aware of unusually high prices for consumer goods like hand sanitizer and protective masks, and asked if price gouging in Oregon is seen to call the Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or report online at oregonconsumer.gov.

No extraordinary measures

Health officials said people if possible should avoid visiting people who fall into that vulnerable category to reduce the risk of them acquiring the virus.

Officials said they are not recommending any extraordinary measures for healthy adults other than the standard preventive behaviors of washing hands and covering mouths and noses with coughing or sneezing.

Paul Cieslak, medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at the Oregon Health Authority, said the virus didn't appear to spread by simply being in the air but by droplets from coughs or sneezes.

“Which means you need to be within a few feet of somebody and be coughed on," he said.

Oregon schools recommendations

State health officials, working with state and local education officials, offered guidance Sunday to keep schools staff and students safe while sustaining learning.

At this time, OHA recommends against closing schools and campuses where no cases of COVID-19 are present. It also recommends that schools, colleges and universities consider all alternatives before closing a school, college or university in the event that a COVID-19 case is detected among students or staff.

The OHA said measures that schools should consider taking include practicing good hygiene, staying home when feeling sick and cleaning high-touch, high-traffic areas within schools frequently.

Under existing OHA guidance, people who have COVID-19, including students and educators, will be subject to self-isolation to prevent others from becoming infected.

Updated COVID-19 case data

As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the Oregon Health Authority has 14 tests with presumed positive COVID-19 results, of 167 that have been tested since Jan. 24. Additionally, 53 test results are pending and 100 have been negative.

In Oregon, 203 individuals are being monitored who do not have COVID-19 symptoms but who may have been exposed through close contact with a confirmed case or from travel to mainland China. Since Jan. 24, 493 people have been under monitoring, and 290 have completed monitoring without developing symptoms or were determined to have no risk.

OHA is delivering all information about the cases "in the aggregate," to protect the privacy of the individuals under investigation or being monitored for COVID-19.

As of Sunday, more than half the cases are in Washington County, with eight cases. There are two cases in Jackson County and one each in Douglas, Klamath, Marion and Umatilla counties.

The majority of the cases are people between the ages of 35 and 74, with seven cases in the 55 to 74 age group and five in 35 to 54 age group. There is one in the 18 to 24 age group. The one case that is 17 and younger, a middle school student at South Meadows Middle School in the Hillsboro School District in Washington County, the Oregon Department of Education said Sunday.

Of the 14 cases, nine were hospitalized at time of presumptive positive test result and three were exposed through international travel.

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