With the COVID-19 pandemic entering its fifth month, virus hotspots have taken a marked leap in recent weeks from Oregon’s urban centers to rural reaches of the state where health officials are scrambling to keep up.
The site -- in both English and Spanish -- features an interactive map that allows users to locate nearby testing sites, with information about their requirements and services.
Jul 21, 2020
Image
An OHSU nurse conducts testing in Hillsboro.
|
OHSU
The time lag is rendering contact tracing -- the system of tracking down all known contacts of the infected person to warn them to quarantine or get tested -- much less effective.
The Oregon Health Authority is tracking active outbreaks in at least 30 of what the state calls “congregate care facilities,” while outbreaks at another 38 of these locations have been resolved.
The study identified nearly 10 million health services Oregonians received between 2016 and 2018, and found that 40% of those services provided little medical benefit compared to their costs.
When Brown set up her Behavioral Health Advisory Council in October 2019, advocates and medical professionals had high hopes it would spark meaningful change. Instead, it's turned into a missed opportunity, critics say.
By extending the time frame to sign up for COBRA coverage, people have at least 120 days to decide whether they want to elect COBRA, and possibly longer depending on when they lost their jobs.