COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County

(As of July 12th pm)

Introduction
This document describes a weekly snapshot of COVID-19 in Lane County. Note that the data reported
here are based on continually updated investigations and represent data available at the time the data
were extracted (see “as of” date above) and may change slightly from week to week. A daily status
update can be found on the Lane County Website. Each part of this summary will help inform decisions on
how to best keep the number of new COVID-19 cases to a minimum; both as a guide for decisions on
lifting restrictions and to monitor when and where our more vulnerable populations need intervention.

Current Case Numbers: Week Ending July 12, 2020

Currently
Total Cases Deaths
Infectious1
311 3 69

Weekly Summary
COVID-19 New Cases
Last week (July 6 – July 12), Lane County reported 66 new cases of COVID-192. Of the new cases:
 Symptom onset was reported between 6/6/2020 and 7/10/2020
 27% were sporadic cases, or community spread. (More on that in the Epidemiological Curve of
COVID-19 in Lane County Section)
This puts the county-wide total at 311 cases, with a rate of infection at 82.4 per 100,000 Lane County
residents. In other words, based on what we know now, about 82 in every 100,000 people have COVID-
19 in Lane County.

Number of reported confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Lane County by case status: Week
ending July 12, 2020 (these numbers will not add up to the current total cases)
New in Week
Status Previous Total
Ending July 12
Cases 66 245
Deaths 0 3
Vent 0 3
ICU 0 6
Hospital 2 26
Currently infectious 69 n/a

1 Cases within the first 10 days of symptom onset are considered infectious. It is this group that we want to
ensure stay isolated so that they cannot spread virus to the people around them.
2 Includes cases confirmed by diagnostic testing and presumptive cases. Presumptive means that the person

has COVID-19 like symptoms and is known to be a contact of a laboratory confirmed case. They are
considered “cases” even without lab confirmation.
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Epidemiological Curve of COVID-19 in Lane County

The figure below shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Lane County from the date of symptom onset, or
the day the individual started feeling symptoms. The figure also shows if cases were ever hospitalized for
their illness (in orange). This epidemiological curve is used to identify when an outbreak may have started
and track where we are in an outbreak. When we say “flatten the curve” this is the curve we’re talking
about. The yellow line represents the total cases over time.
One of the measures used to guide the county’s ability to move through the phases of reduced restrictions
is how much the number of new cases increase from one week to the next. Thanks to the early interventions
of frequent handwashing, closing schools, working from home, and physical distancing from non-household
members, Lane County has managed to keep the curve reasonably flat from the beginning. Over the past
month, reported cases had been doubling from one week to the next. Last week leveled off from the week
before, from 71 to 67 new cases. This is good for our state metrics this week, as we are trying to keep this
increase below 5%. However, as demonstrated in the figure below, recent trends have been concerning.
Lane County Cases by Date of Symptom Onset^: As of July 12, 2020
20 350
311
18
300
16
14 250

Total Cases
12 200
Count

10
8 150

6 100
4
50
2
0 0
3/1/2020

3/8/2020

4/5/2020

5/3/2020

7/5/2020
6/7/2020
3/15/2020

3/22/2020

3/29/2020

4/12/2020

4/19/2020

4/26/2020

5/10/2020

5/17/2020

5/24/2020

5/31/2020

6/14/2020

6/21/2020

6/28/2020

7/12/2020

Yes No Unknown Total

^ Note that the dates represented here are by symptom onset and not the day they were reported
to Public Health.
* Infections that begin during this time period may not yet be reported.

Forty-eight- of the 69 cases (73%) from last week are contacts via work, household or social circle to
previously known cases. In most of these cases, we used contact tracing to reach out to the contacts of
known cases to see if they needed testing and advise on quarantine recommendations. Capturing these
cases is good news for Lane County. It demonstrates our ability to find new cases via contact tracing and
get them quarantined and into care, if necessary. Then, we start the case investigation and contact tracing
process again with these new cases.

This also demonstrates that we are keeping our number of sporadic or community spread cases to a
minimum. Another metric used for lessening restrictions is to keep sporadic cases below 30%. We were at
27% in the week ending July 12th.
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

COVID-19 Contact Tracing

A large part of case investigation for any disease is looking for contacts of the case and monitoring them
in whatever way is appropriate for the disease. In order to more efficiently monitor for new infections as
we ease restrictions, Public Health started actively monitoring only the high risk contacts of new cases as of
May 1. These contacts (or people under monitoring) identified as being at greater risk of infection because
they have been in close proximity to a known case, been associated with a known outbreak or have
traveled from somewhere deemed high risk by the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ).
(Currently, DGMQ notifications include people returning from cruise ships and people who have sat close
to a known case on an airplane.) All contacts are quarantined at home for 14 days and touch base with a
public health contact tracer once a day to monitor for any COVID-19 like symptoms.
Counts of Contacts Monitored per Case: As of July 12, 2020
New in week
Previous Total
ending June 28
Cases 66 245
Contacts 67 428

 Of those people who were under monitoring, 71 ended up becoming cases, since May 1st
 On average, there are 4.3 contacts per case. With an minimum of 0 and maximum of 28 contacts

COVID-19 Across Lane County

The figure below represents the number of COVID-19 cases in Lane County by county zip code.
Currently, almost all of the cases are in the center of the county, closer to the more populous Eugene and
Springfield areas. There has been 11 cases on in Florence and fewer than 10 in the eastern Lane County
zip codes. Almost 82% of our cases are concentrated in eight adjacent zip codes, representing the greater
Eugene and Springfield area.
To protect the identities of our residents, only zip codes with more than 1,000 residents and 10 or more
cases will have specific case numbers.

Case Maps for All and Central Lane County by Zip Code:
As of July 12, 2020
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

COVID-19 Testing
Including hospital laboratories, Oregon State Public Health Laboratory, and commercial laboratories, in
the weekend ending July 12th, Lane County:
 completed at least 4,548 tests
 averaging 649 tests per day 649
Our goal is to perform 500 tests per day; and Lane County has had a daily average greater than 500
tests for the past three weeks. This metric is important for releasing restrictions, as we need to prove that
we have the capability of doing enough testing, very quickly, in the event of an outbreak. Provided lab
supplies are readily available, we can reliably test at least 500 people per day.

Number of Tests Completed in Lane County: Week ending July 12, 2020

* Note that there is a lag between the time that tests are collected and results are sent to the County.
Therefore, the most recent few days are an underestimate of the true count.

Positivity Rate in Testing

The percent of positive tests is a useful measure of whether or not we are doing enough testing to find
cases. If the percent is too high, then it suggests that only the sickest people are being tested and missing
those with mild or no symptoms. The goal is to keep this percent positivity at less than 5%.
After we have more time with a stable number of tests performed each day, we’ll be able to use the
percent positivity to identify if we are increasing or decreasing in new cases. The most current information
for Lane County has less than 1% positive. This is lower than the state, which is at 5%.
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Lane County COVID-19 Weekly Percent Positive Tests: As of July 12, 2020

COVID-19 Case Demographics

Gender/sex: Of our cases, 162 (52%) are male.
Age: We have five clusters of cases in young adults. The number of cases who are less than or equal to 30
years old has been increasing, representing with 40% of our cases. This is much greater than what we see
at the state level, where the cases under 30 make up 31% of the cases. Sixteen percent of our cases have
been between greater than 60 years old, which is similar to state data, at 19%. (The Oregon weekly
report can be found here.)

Lane County COVID-19 Cases by Age Group: As of July 12, 2020

COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Race/ethnicity: 52% of our cases are white. The second most reported race group is “Other”, at 26%. The
white and “Other” category in the state is 41% and 31%, respectively.
Notably, while our Latinx community makes up only 9.1% of the Lane County population, they represent at
least 30% of our cases. This highlights the disparity of disease burden in our Latinx population, and is an
example of data helping to signal areas that need further attention and intervention.

Lane County COVID-19 Cases by Identified Race and Latinx Status: As of July 12, 2020
Race Percent* Latinx Percent
American Indian/Alaskan Native 1.6% No 59.5%
Asian <5 cases Yes 30.5%
Black 1.6% Unknown 10.0%
Multiple 6.1%
Other 26.7%
Refused <5 cases
White 50.8%
Unknown 10.6%
*Those races with fewer than 5 cases are marked at “<5 cases”

Potential Risk Factors for COVID-19 Infection

Some individuals may be more likely to be infected with COVID-19 due to differences in exposure risk. A
number of factors may influence a person’s risk of exposure or infection, such as, their current health
condition, the type of work they do, or their housing circumstances. Those individuals who work in health
care settings may be at particular risk due to their proximity to cases. People living in congregate spaces
(long term care facilities, dorms, jails) may have a harder time keeping shared spaces clean or maintain
physical distancing. Identifying the factors that may put people at increased risk of COVID-19 infection
helps inform valuable targeted testing programs.
Lane County COVID-19 cases by percent of potential risk factors*: As of July 12, 2020

*People may have more than one risk factor

COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Our most common risk factors for our cases, is actually be in contact with a known case (65%). We see this
through our contact identification and tracings activities.
Another common risk factor for more severe disease in Lane County is having an underlying health
condition. As more data become available, we’ll be able to further investigate the proportion of those with
specific underlying conditions compared to the severity (based on hospitalization type) of disease.

Lane County COVID-19 cases by reported pre-existing condition*: As of July 12, 2020

*People may have more than one pre-existing condition

Note that several of these risk factors were not collected from the beginning of case finding in Oregon. Also,
in some cases we were unable to get an answer from the case due to interview limitations. Therefore, the
number of reported risk factors are likely underestimated.

Lane County COVID-19 Cases – Signs and Symptoms

Eighty-five percent of our cases had at least one symptom. The most common symptom seen in our cases is
coughing (68%). This is followed by headache and muscle ache 63%, 61%, respectively. These are the
same top three symptoms seen at the state. Seven percent of our cases reported no symptoms.
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Lane County COVID-19 cases by reported signs and symptoms*: As of July 12, 2020

*People may have more than one sign or symptom.

Note that several of these signs and symptoms were not collect from the beginning of the cases in Oregon.
Also, in some cases we were unable to get an answer from the case due to interview limitations. Therefore, the
number of reported signs and symptoms are likely underestimated.

Hospitalizations
To date, there have been 28 cases hospitalized. Of those:
 29% were in ICU
 14% were on a ventilator
Gender/sex: Of the 28 cases that have been hospitalized so far, 75% were male.
Age: 15% of hospitalizations were in people less than 30. 75% were over 50.
Ethnicity: 25% of our hospitalized cases were Latinx. This underscores the disproportionate burden of
disease on our Latinx population.
COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance Summary for Lane County
(As of July 12th pm)

Targeted Testing
In May, Lane County began targeted testing. Testing this way allows us to focus efforts on places or
populations that may be more vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19, as discussed in the risk factors section
above. This helps us to find cases that might not have been found otherwise, get them into care and start
contact tracing to stem the spread of infection.
Last week, we started testing at the private dorms around the University of Oregon.
Lane County COVID-19 Targeted Testing: As of July 12, 2020
Testing Events June 29 – July
Total Testing Events
Site Type 12
Events Tests Events Tests
Corrections* 1 11 13 153
Latinx Locations 1 98 6 259
LTCF/SNF^ - - 10 655
Shelters - - 15 265
Rural Testing - - 2 288
UO Students 1 34 1 34
Grand Total 3 143 46 1654
*Including those currently in a correctional facility or recently paroled
^Long Term Care Facilities/Skilled Nursing Facilities

Of these tests:

 26% were staff of the LTCF, Shelters or correctional facilities

 No cases have been idetnified from LTCF or shelters
 There has been a total of 16 cases found through these testing events
o six cases identified from testing at corrections sites,
o three from rural testing and
o seven from Latinx testing events
Lane County will no longer be testing at LTCF sites because of the State of Oregon’s LTCF announced in
June. More detail will be presented as the data become available.