Gov. Brown Rolls Out Some Details On Reopening Oregon

At a press conference on Friday, Governor Kate brown introduced new plans for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.

The Governors office says they are two foundational elements of her framework for reopening Oregon safely.

“As we look to reopen Oregon, it’s critical we understand the prevalence of COVID-19 across the state and use science and data to ensure we can safely take steps forward,” said Brown. “A strategy of testing and tracing helps us identify who has the disease and who may be at risk of infection — knowledge that is incredibly powerful as we look to reopen.”

The Governors office says that key elements of the testing plan include voluntary widespread testing in partnership with OHSU, unified coordination between all hospital labs to optimize Oregon’s available testing capacity, acting as one statewide system which will allocate resources to meet the state’s testing needs in every region and a focus on collecting data to serve at-risk communities.

The plan also seeks to expand Oregon’s testing criteria, allowing anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested within 48 to 72 hours.

According to a press release sent out today, the plan sets the goal of being able to perform 30 tests per week for every 10,000 Oregonians.

The press release explains “Governor Brown’s contact tracing plan sets a goal of training at least 600 contact tracers, deployed statewide by county, with a focus on recruiting individuals with cultural and linguistic competence for the populations they serve.”