STATE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 7A
Oregon completes COVID-19
tests at long-term care facilities
Overall rate of COVID-19 infections in care facilities is 2.2%
The Observer
Michael Durham/Oregon Zoo
Mei Mei’s red panda cub, newly named Pabu, explores his habitat at the Oregon Zoo.
Oregon Zoo names red panda cub
The Observer
PORTLAND — The
Oregon Zoo’s red panda cub
has a name.
When red panda
Mei Mei gave birth to a
fl uffy baby this summer,
according to a press
release from the Oregon
Zoo, keepers handed over
naming honors to the
Oregon Zoo Foundation,
which raffl ed off a chance
to help “dub the cub.”
Miriam Bolding of Hill-
sboro won the raffl e and
last week met with zoo
care staff via video confer-
ence. Together they decided
on Pabu — a Tibetan
name meaning “fl uff-
ball,” according to online
resources, and a popular
name for red pandas at zoos
around the country.
Bolding won the raffl e
Sept. 25 during the Oregon
Zoo Foundation’s Zoo Ren-
dezvous event, which raised
much needed funds to sup-
ONLINE
• To see video of Mei Mei
and Pabu, visit https://
youtu.be/mgdFs2KyKwo.
port the zoo’s efforts in
animal care, education and
conservation.
“I have been looking for
ways to support local orga-
nizations that I love who
have been hit hard by the
pandemic,” Bolding said
in the release. “I wanted to
support the Oregon Zoo, so
I purchased a membership
and decided to buy raffl e
tickets to help.”
Amy Cutting, who over-
sees the zoo’s red panda
area, said in the press
release it was fun to kick
around different names
with Bolding.
“Pabu was the winner,
and it really seems to fi t the
little guy,” Cutting wrote
in the release. “He’s been
growing more and more
adventurous lately — we’re
excited for visitors to see
him as he spends more time
outside.”
Red pandas are consid-
ered an endangered species,
with populations declining
by about 50% in the past
20 years, according to the
press release. While exact
numbers are uncertain,
some estimates indicate as
few as 2,500 may be left in
the wild. In addition to hab-
itat loss and fragmentation,
red pandas also face threats
from poaching and the
illegal wildlife trade.
“Fifty years ago, red
pandas had healthy popula-
tions throughout the eastern
Himalayas,” Cutting said.
“But they’ve been disap-
pearing at alarming rates.
Hopefully, we can start a
new chapter in the con-
servation of a species that
is sharply declining in the
wild.”
SALEM — Oregon
has completed initial
COVID-19 testing of staff
and consenting residents
in 683 long-term care
facilities statewide.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Human Services
announced the action in a
press release Tuesday, Oct.
6. DHA and the Oregon
Health Authority handled
the testing, which achieves
the fi rst of two objectives
of Gov. Kate Brown’s
testing plan.
Baseline testing
found the overall rate of
COVID-19 infections in
nursing, assisted living
and residential care facili-
ties is 2.2% based on pre-
liminary results, according
to the press release. Facil-
ities were required to
complete administra-
tion of tests by Sept. 30
and follow up by submit-
ting results. With baseline
testing complete, the plan
calls for facilities to test all
staff at least once a month
on an on-going basis.
Brown said in the
release with this fi rst
phase of long-term care
testing complete, “we are
one step closer to fi nding
a way to strike the balance
between keeping our long-
term care facilities free of
COVID-19, and making
sure residents are able to
have the family time that
is so critical to their well-
being and health.”
In addition to pro-
viding information about
COVID-19 cases, the base-
line testing requirement
provided facilities with the
opportunity to develop the
capacity to quickly and
regularly test residents and
staff.
The state requires facil-
ities to report any positive
test result immediately to
their local public health
authority and the Oregon
Department of Human
Services, which conducts
at least weekly onsite
visits to facilities with
COVID-19 cases and col-
laborates with the Oregon
Health Authority to mon-
itor the outbreak.
“To ensure individuals’
privacy, the only pub-
licly released information
from the testing will be
aggregate data,” the press
release stated.
Positive test results
are in OHA’s Weekly
COVID-19 Report, if
the facility has three or
more cases or one or more
deaths. In addition, facil-
ities with cases are in
ODHS lists published
twice weekly.
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