Klamath County Coronavirus Watch

Situation Summary:

Officials recommend staying informed and practicing good personal hygiene including washing hands regularly, staying home when sick, and covering any cough you may have. You can reduce the chance of getting any viral infection by avoiding people who are sick and not touching your eyes, nose, or mouth before washing your hands. Federal and local authorities are not specifically recommending masks for the general public at the present time (for protection). Your healthcare provider can offer the best advise regarding the use of masks.

Oregon Emergency Management has always recommended every family be two weeks ready and have enough food and supplies to be able to shelter in place for a two week period if needed. It’s always a good idea to be two weeks ready.

Freeze dry food, hand sanitizer, soaps, particle and respirator masks, and a few other supplies (toilet paper) are being bought up rapidly by consumers. Empty store shelves are being caused by overbuying and are temporary. There is no water, food, or fuel shortage reported anywhere in the USA. The supply chain continues to function. 

Based on current information the primary way the virus is spread is through airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The data on this new virus is still changing rapidly. Links to official information sources are provided below on this page.

Estimated mortality rates:

Seasonal Flu – 0.10% of infected – Coronavirus – 4.53% of infected

(Mortality rates based on worldwide data. Rates can vary by country and region)

What’s the big deal about this? 

Coronavirus is a new virus in the Corona family. There is no vaccine or treatment and people do not have built up immunity to it. The virus has the proven ability to cause people to overwhelm intensive medical care facilities (ICU Units) as seen in Italy and China. The virus can impact all age groups but seems to be limited in young children. 

Click here to see a video we recommend about the situation

Click here to see the Oregon Live case tracker

Realtime Covid-19 data via World-O-Meters

Governor Brown Information Page 

Why do we need to close schools and ban large gatherings? 

It is very critical right now that the spread of the virus be slowed down. Without these measures there is a life threatening risk of hospital ICU units being overwhelmed.

*This page is updated daily. The above data reflects known cases and includes those considered presumptive.  A presumptive case means that a state lab facility has a positive test result for a patient. Sustained community spread is being observed in Oregon. The Oregon stats are likely much higher.