June 18, 2020

La Grande, Oregon – Today the Union County Incident Management Team conducted approximately 400 COVID-19 tests at a drive-through testing clinic in La Grande.  Testing will continue tomorrow with the capacity for an additional 400-500 tests.  Due to the high volume of testing, notifications will be made as quickly as possible.  Results are anticipated to be returned and individuals contacted within the next five days.  Positive test results are anticipated to be reflected Monday or Tuesday through Oregon Health Authority reporting.

The COVID-19 testing clinic will be held again tomorrow (Friday, June 19) from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm at the Union County Fairgrounds. Appointment times are still available.  Individuals experiencing symptoms such as fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea are encouraged to contact the call center at 541-963-1040.   Screeners will be answering calls tomorrow from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. If financial concerns are a barrier for individuals receiving a test that need one, please discuss this with the call screener when making your appointment.

Tests will continue to be conducted at the clinic and appointments taken until the current supply of tests have been exhausted.  If there is a large volume of individuals still requiring a test, an additional testing clinic will be arranged next week.

The volunteers and the Union County Incident Management Team staff have been working long hours to make these clinics possible.  Without the combined and coordinated efforts of these two groups, the clinics would not have been able to come together so quickly. 

Union County citizens are urged to wear cloth face coverings or masks when shopping or in a location where a minimum of six feet distance from others outside of your household is not an option.  Oregon Health Authority guidance states that cloth face coverings or masks should be worn when physical distancing guidelines cannot be observed. 

There were five new confirmed cases announced for Union County today bringing the total number of cases to 247.  Statewide, there are a total of 6,366 cases.  Officials anticipate the number of local confirmed cases will continue to increase as contact tracing, investigations, and additional tests are conducted.

The Union County Board of Commissioners voted yesterday to recommend citizens voluntarily return to Phase 1 guidelines.  The guidelines can be found here: http://union-county.org/voluntary-return-to-phase-1/

The Joint Information Center will be open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. until further notice.

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