Port of Portland and TriMet officials say they’re keeping close tabs on the latest news and developments surrounding COVID-19, but they haven’t made any changes in response to the new coronavirus.

Both transportation entities – the Port of Portland owns and operates Portland International Airport -- urged the general public to check with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the latest recommendations on taking precautions and identifying potential cases of the rapidly spreading virus.

Kama Simonds, a Port of Portland spokeswoman, said Thursday that while the situation surrounding the coronavirus has changed in the past month “without question,” officials here are still operating as normal while “monitoring” the situation.

“We’ve not been directed to do any sort of additional screening,” Simonds said in an email. She noted that the airport doesn’t have direct flights to China, where the virus appears to have originated, or South Korea, which has had a surge of cases in recent days.

Worldwide, cases of the respiratory virus have climbed past 82,000, including 2,800 reported deaths.

When passengers arrive at PDX from other countries through a connecting flight, they are already cleared to travel by customs and border officials, Simonds said, “who, as we understand it, are in close contact with the CDC when it comes to policies, protocols and procedures surrounding screening for the virus.”

PDX has more than 20 hand sanitizing stations, Simonds said, and individual airlines, federal TSA officials and the airport conference center have additional stations. None of those were added after COVID-19 first made international headlines.

Oregon doesn’t have a confirmed case of the virus yet, Simonds noted.

Roberta Altstadt, a TriMet spokeswoman, said the agency is also keeping abreast of the latest developments. “TriMet understands the concern and fear about the novel coronavirus, especially with the increased media coverage,” she said, “and we have had a few inquiries from riders.”

Altstadt said the transit agency urges riders to “take precautions to keep themselves and others healthy” and that applies to the virus, the flu or even the common cold.

She said that advice from the CDC includes washing hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth and covering your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.

“We do regularly clean our buses and trains,” Altstadt said, “but remember, a surface is only clean until someone touches it, sneezes on it or coughs on it.”

If you’re sick, she said, try to stay home. “But if they must ride, to please use a mask, cover coughs and sneezes and be aware of others.”

When asked whether ridership has been affected so far, Altstadt said that’s too soon to tell.

“We expect to have our year-by-year analysis of ridership in the coming weeks. We can let you know if ridership is up or down, but it may be impossible to attribute it to one specific cause.”

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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