UMATILLA COUNTY — Another week of surging COVID-19 cases ended Friday, June 26, with Umatilla County reporting a single-day record of 53 new cases.

In the past week, Umatilla County’s case total increased 75% to 428, including six hospitalizations, which is the most reported at a single time since the pandemic began.

In order to manage the surging cases and prepare for what may come next, Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston announced June 26 it was reinstating its incident command team and establishing a new unit dedicated to COVID-19 patients, among other changes.

“These interdepartmental moves will allow us to better accommodate our patients safely,” said Dennis Burke, president and CEO of Good Shepherd. “Like other communities around us, we are beginning to see a rise in active COVID-19 cases, with a potential for increased hospitalizations.”

“Our health care system has been preparing vigilantly for response adjustments such as these, should the need arise, and we are judiciously monitoring our Personal Protection Equipment our staff would need to care for an influx of patients,” the statement read.

According to a press release, the hospital has maintained its incident command structure since state of emergency declarations were made in March. The command is used for “preparing, training and mitigating all types of emergencies.”

The unit reserved for COVID-19 patients is tailored to the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the release said, and has 12 beds with the ability to isolate four more beds for overflow. The move is aimed toward protecting high-risk patients, protecting hospital personnel and freeing up additional beds in the intensive care unit.

To accommodate the move, the hospital’s treatment center and cancer center have been moved to the surgical services department.

Good Shepherd’s limited visitation and strict screening policies remain in effect. All patients and visitors must wear a mask upon entering the facility. Masks will be provided for those who don’t have one.

In Pendleton, a spokesperson for St. Anthony Hospital said there have not been any changes in hospital protocol as a result of the recent rise in cases, but its own incident command structure remains in place.

Local hospital and public health officials have noted the ability to transfer patients to larger facilities in the event that local capacity dwindles.

The Tri-City Herald reported June 18 that a local surge in the Tri-Cities area had nearly maxed out the intensive care unit capacity in its hospitals.

Local cases rise while testing lags behind

The Oregon Health Authority reported its fourth straight week of an increase in newly diagnosed cases statewide, which state health officials have attributed to at least a small increase in transmission as a result of a reopening, in addition to an increase in available testing.

The state also released its newest modeling June 26 that shows, in a moderate scenario, Oregon is trending toward more than 900 new cases a day and as many as 27 new hospitalizations daily.

An optimistic scenario would reduce those numbers to the current average of about 180 new cases each day. The pessimistic scenario estimates up to 4,800 new cases and up to 82 hospitalizations per day across the state.

Umatilla County’s own data already shows an upward trend of cases that has become sharper and sharper each week.

After recording less than a 5% increase in new cases the week prior to entering the second phase reopening on June 6, those increases jumped to a 20% in the first week of Phase 2, to an increase of more than 50% the next week, and then more than 75% this past week.

While more rural and less populated than the state’s metro areas, Umatilla County’s surge has given it 42 cases per 10,000 people, according to the Oregon Health Authority. That’s the third highest infection rate in the state behind only Union and Lincoln counties, which are home to Oregon’s largest individual outbreaks.

But not having a large outbreak of its own isn’t the only difference that Umatilla County has with the others facing local surges that appear disproportionate to their population.

While Union and Lincoln counties have two of the highest testing rates per 10,000 people in the entire state, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s weekly report published June 24, Umatilla County is 29th of 36 counties with a testing rate of only about 388 per 10,000 people.

Though testing appears to be relatively limited locally, Umatilla County’s positive test rate of about 10% continues to drive the surge. The statewide positive test rate is about 3% as of June 24, according to the Oregon Health Authority.