4
Wednesday, January 27, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Sisters continues to navigate pandemic
Sisters continues to ride
a rollercoaster of ups and
downs in navigating the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Many Sisters students
returned to in-person edu-
cation at local schools as
Governor Kate Brown
adjusted the rules under which
students could return to class.
The surge in cases that has
battered Oregon since the fall
appears to have been abated,
with daily case reports in
Deschutes County declining
from peak levels 4 though
they continue to add up.
The Sisters 97759 zip
code has seen 161 total cases
as of January 20.
The region is not out of the
woods. Last week, St. Charles
Health System reported an
outbreak of COVID-19 cases
at the St. Charles Redmond
hospital campus. An outbreak
is defined as a cluster of cases
that are related.
To date, 33 caregivers had
tested positive for COVID-
19, their cases are investi-
gated in collaboration with
Deschutes County Health
Services and the Oregon
Health Authority. The hos-
pital later announced that
the source of the outbreak
had been traced to a single
patient.
According to the hospi-
tal, the patient 4 who had
underlying health condi-
tions that at times made it
difficult to wear a mask 4
was admitted to St. Charles
Redmond on December 31
and was initially tested twice
for COVID-19. Because both
tests resulted negative, St.
Charles caregivers continued
to wear droplet precaution
personal protective equip-
ment (PPE).
On January 6, the patient
was tested a third time for
COVID-19, and that test
resulted positive.
After performing an inves-
tigation with the assistance
of Deschutes County Health
Services and the Oregon
Health Authority, St. Charles9
Infection Prevention team
determined the Redmond
caregivers9 droplet precau-
tion PPE was overwhelmed
by prolonged exposure to the
highly-symptomatic COVID-
positive patient.
<The important learning
from this outbreak is that neg-
ative COVID-19 test results
are not foolproof,= said Dr.
Jeff Absalon, St. Charles9
chief physician executive. <In
spite of negative test results,
if a patient is highly symp-
tomatic, we will need to treat
them as if they are COVID-
19 positive and aerosolizing,
in which case the higher level
of PPE is required.=
The incident illustrates the
difficulty of identifying and
evading infection.
<We hope our community
understands and will help us
by following all COVID-19
restrictions, both inside and
outside of our facilities,=
said Redmond hospital CEO
Aaron Adams. <The number
of positive COVID-19 cases
continues to be high through-
out the region and we need
your help to ensure we have a
healthy workforce to care for
you and your loved ones.=
The hospital emphasizes
that it continues to be criti-
cally important for individu-
als to wear masks, as well as
practice physical distancing
and good hand hygiene.
In a press conference on
Friday, Governor Brown and
the Oregon Health Authority
offered a timeline for
vaccinations.
Vaccination timelines
JANUARY 25:
• Phase 1A: 67 percent of first doses administered
(approximately 270,000 first doses administered)
• Educators eligible for vaccination
WEEK OF JANUARY 31:
• Phase 1A: 72 percent complete
(approximately 290,000 first doses to administer)
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 7:
• Educators: 57 percent complete
(approximately 85,000 first doses to administer)
• Seniors 80 and over eligible
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 14:
• Seniors 75 and over eligible (approximately 36 percent
of total senior/educator population vaccinated)
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 21:
• Seniors 70 and over eligible (approximately 32 percent
of total senior/educator population vaccinated)
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 28:
• Seniors 65 and over eligible (approximately 29 percent
of total senior/educator population vaccinated)
WEEK OF MAY 2:
• Provide enough doses to achieve 78 percent
of total senior/educator population vaccinated)
Vaccine delivery has
proved to be rocky. NPR
reported last week that vac-
cine manufacturers Pfizer
and Moderna face significant
challenges in meeting targets.
<The companies promised
to deliver 100 million doses
apiece to the United States
by the end of March,= NPR
reported. <But they9ll need
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to make huge leaps in a short
time to meet that goal. In the
last few weeks, they9ve each
been steadily delivering about
4.3 million doses a week,
according to an NPR exami-
nation of vaccine allocation
data. But to hit their targets
of 100 million doses on time,
they each need to deliver 7.5
million doses a week for the
next nine weeks.=
Meanwhile, Oregon has
reported three cases of the
variant COVID-19 virus
strain originally detected in
the United Kingdom. That
variant is considered to be
more contagious.
So, Sisters celebrates
small signs of progress, while
keeping a wary 4 and weary
4 eye on the ongoing spread
of COVID-19 and the vac-
cine developed to quell it.
And OHA continues to urge
adhering to the personal pro-
tocols that can inhibit spread:
" Maintain six feet of
physical distance;
" Wear a face covering
when outside the house;
" Practice good hand
hygiene;
" Avoid gatherings with
people you don9t live with;
" People who experience
symptoms 4 even mild ones
4 are urged to consult with
a medical provider quickly
to get instructions on how to
care for themselves and their
household members, and
whether to get tested.
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www.sisterschurch.com