By Harmeet Kaur | CNN
Oregon officials say a “superspreader move” is likely the cause of two recent Covid-19 outbreaks in the state.
The action in question: A person consciously went to work while sick and later tested positive for the virus, Douglas County officials said last week.
Two separate outbreaks of Covid-19 can now be traced back to that person, officials said. Seven people died as a result of the first outbreak, and hundreds were forced to isolate themselves over the second.
“One of those outbreaks has resulted in seven deaths, and the other recent outbreak has quarantined more than 300 people / families,” said a Dec. 17 statement from the Douglas County government. “We can’t even imagine how sorry these people feel right now, and we empathize with them.”
County officials called the incident a ‘superspreader action’ and called it ‘one of the most worrying issues we are currently facing’. It’s a spin on the term ‘superspreader event’, which refers to large in-person gatherings such as weddings, parties or religious services where the presence of an infected person has the potential to trigger a viral outbreak.
They also urged people to stay home if they experience symptoms and to follow other safety protocols.
Officials did not share the infected person’s workplace, or when they went to work sick.
Douglas County, located in southern Oregon and has a population of approximately 111,000, has seen 1,315 Covid-19 cases as of Tuesday. That includes people who have tested positive for the virus, as well as people who are believed to be positive.
Thirty-seven people have died from Covid-19 in the county, and nine patients are currently hospitalized with the virus, the latest county data shows.
Last week, Douglas County was one of 29 Oregon counties that government officials ruled were “extremely at risk” of spreading the virus.
Oregon recorded about 105,000 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths on Tuesday, and infections have been on the rise since November.