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ONTARIO – And now, another case of COVID-19 has been detected in Malheur County.
A woman in her 40s has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the third instance so far in the county.
“She is a resident of Malheur County and is not hospitalized,” the Malheur County Health Department said in an announcement Friday evening. “She is recovering at home and isolated.”
Health officials across Oregon have made a practice of releasing very little information about those diagnosed with the disease, a move intended to protect the privacy of those recovering.
Authorities reported the first local case, a man in his 20s, on Sunday, March 29, and then reported a female aged 10 to 19 on Thursday, April 2.
That second case appears to have been an employee at Jacksons Food Store at 1320 S.W. 4th Ave. in Ontario. The company shut the operation overnight then for cleaning.
The Oregon Health Authority reported Friday that 118 people in Malheur County have been tested for COVID-19 with negative results.
Across the state, the agency reported, 1,371 people have been confirmed infected and 48 have died.
Health officials at the state and county level have been imploring people to comply with Gov. Kate Brown’s stay home order and to otherwise follow social distancing standards. That means staying at least six feet apart from others not in the immediate family. Federal authorities this week for the first time advised that everyone wear a non-medical face mask when going out in public.
“It is important as the virus spreads that people follow physical distancing measures, frequently wash hands and surfaces and stay home with symptoms to prevent further transmission,” the Malheur health agency said in its Friday evening statement.
The agency said that those with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to the virus should contact their health care provider.