Oregon Closes Grade School After Employee Contracts Coronavirus from Unknown Source
An elementary school employee in Lake Oswego is Oregon’s first reported case of the novel coronavirus, resulting in closure of the 430-student school for both “deep cleaning,” and to determine whether anyone else was exposed.
The employee at Forest Hills Elementary School has not traveled abroad recently and apparently contracted the virus through “community transmission.”
Oregon Live reports it is currently not known how the patient became exposed.
The patient hadn’t been under monitoring for coronavirus symptoms and doesn’t appear to have traveled to any of the countries with outbreaks or have associated with anyone who did, Oregon Health Authority officials said.
Portland Fox affiliate KPTV-12 has more.
The district said Friday that all weekend activities for its schools would be canceled out of an abundance of caution.
“We anticipate all schools to be open on Monday, March 1, except Forest Hills,” the district said in a statement, according to FOX 12. “Forest Hills will remain closed through Wednesday, March 3,” according to a district statement.
The patient is currently at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center in Hillsboro, Oregon.
“Our first concern is for this individual, to make sure they’re being cared for and is able to recover,” Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen told reporters. “Our next priority is finding out who this individual had contact with and make sure they know about their risks.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown tweeted about her state’s first case of the virus on Friday.
I understand this news is concerning, and I want Oregonians to know we are taking this very seriously.
Our health officials are professionally trained to handle this situation and are responding quickly. https://t.co/fle4XEkno3
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) February 29, 2020
Officials encouraged people to continue going about their normal routines and to remember to wash their hands and cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing.
The Oregon Health Authority website has more information on the virus available to residents here.
