UMATILLA COUNTY — Umatilla County is up to 73 confirmed COVID-19 cases  after three new cases were announced Tuesday, according to a press releases. 

One of Tuesday’s new cases has been identified as a close contact of previously known case, the release stated, and all three individuals are currently recovering at home.

While the rising case numbers can be attributed to an increase in local testing access — the county reports 848 residents have been tested as of Tuesday — Umatilla County Public Health Director Joe Fiumara also attributes it to more close contacts of cases receiving tests.

“More of the contacts we’re following up on are actually getting tested,” he said. “When somebody was identified as a contact when we were first getting going on this, that additional testing just wasn’t happening.” 

However, Fiumara said the county’s tracing investigations over the last two weeks continue to reveal instances of gatherings, some with family and some without, that are proving to be a catalyst to the spread. 

Umatilla County Public Health also released its weekly locations trend map Tuesday, which indicates early trends that began a few weeks ago of where the virus was spreading locally have continued. 

Hermiston remains the county hotspot with somewhere between 26 to 50 cases. Umatilla is second in the county with 16 to 25 cases, the Pendleton area still has between five and nine cases, while the Milton-Freewater area now is identified with five to nine cases. 

With a number of factors to consider, Fiumara said the locations of the local confirmed cases doesn’t necessarily mean there’s “more of the virus” in Hermiston than other areas of the county.

“The sense is its spread around in those communities,” he said. 

The county also reported three individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, indicating two previously confirmed cases who were recovering at home as of Monday had to be hospitalized in the last 24 hours. 

However, the county reported 12 more people who had tested positive are now considered recovered. As of Tuesday, 33 cases are considered active versus 39 recovered. Someone is considered recovered when they have gone at least 72 hours without symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea.

Morrow County also announced an eighth confirmed case of COVID-19 in a Boardman resident Tuesday, bringing the countywide total to 10 cases. The county has also reported one case in Heppner and another in Irrigon.