This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day.

Oregon’s third case of COVID-19 has been identified, and the patient is an adult resident of Umatilla County.

The case is a “presumptive positive.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that means it tested positive in a local laboratory but is waiting for confirmation by the CDC.

A news release from the Oregon Health Authority did not release information about where in the county the resident lives, but did reveal that the person attended a youth basketball game on Saturday at Weston Middle School in Weston, and others who attended may be at risk. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation also announced that the person is an employee of Wildhorse Resort and Casino outside Pendleton.

The case is a “presumptive positive” case of COVID-19, the new strain of coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China on the last day of 2019. On Monday morning Washington health officials announced that five people in the Seattle area have now died from the disease, bringing the U.S. death toll to six. Worldwide, the death toll is over 3,000.

The Umatilla County patient is hospitalized in Walla Walla, according to the state, and health officials are “moving quickly to contact people who may have been in close contact with the individual who tested as a presumptive positive case.” Officials are also working to determine where else the patient may have interacted with people in recent days and will notify the public as additional locations are determined.

The case is not linked to travel to a part of the world with known cases of COVID-19, meaning it is considered a case of “community transmission” picked up locally. 

The Weston Middle School gym is in a separate building from the rest of the school, and Athena-Weston School District announced it has closed the gym and will conduct a deep cleaning.

Oregon residents who attended Saturday’s basketball game can dial 211 with questions, while Washington residents can call the Washington State Department of Health at 800-525-0127 and press #.

According to the information put out by the CTUIR, an incident command consisting of staff from Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center and the Tribal Government has been set up, and the Board of Trustees has ordered that Nixyaawii Community School, Head Start, Daycare and Senior Center to be closed until all facilities have been fully sanitized. Wildhorse Resort and Casino will be temporarily closed in order to sanitize the facilities. Closures will take effect at noon. In addition, all community events on the Umatilla Indian Reservation are cancelled for the rest of the week.

Hospitals and clinics in the area are taking precautions as the outbreak spreads in the United States. Pam Schulz, infection control program manager at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston, said the hospital is following guidance from the CDC, OHA and Umatilla County Health Department.

“It’s currently a moving target,” she said. “We have a plan we’ve modified three times since Friday and we’re modifying it again today.”

Schulz said so far Good Shepherd has not had problems getting medical supplies such as masks, despite an increase in purchases of those items by the general public.

If someone has mild or moderate symptoms they believe may be coronavirus, such as a cough, they should call and consult with their primary care provider before coming in. More serious symptoms such as difficultly breathing may need treated in the emergency room.

Schulz encouraged people looking for information to consult the CDC website.

“They should make sure they’re getting their information from credible sources,” she said.

Umatilla County Public Health Director Joseph Fiumara said his department was starting to receive calls from people concerned about the virus.

“Our entire public health team is diligently working away at following every link we can, and identifying everybody who is potentially at risk and trying to respond to public requests as they come in,” he said. “But we are being overloaded with calls.”

Dean Sidelinger, the state health officer, also urged caution.

“We know that this disease can cause serious illness and has resulted in thousands of deaths across the world, but we want to remind people that the vast majority of people infected with COVID-19 will have a mild disease,” he said.

He added that people more likely to suffer more serious symptoms are the elderly and people with other health problems like respiratory issues, heart disease, obesity or diabetes.

Although this particular strain of virus originated in China, Chinese food and products manufactured or shipped from China aren’t public health threats.

Sidelinger said the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory has the ability to test the virus, but because it’s so new, the state is referring to each case as “presumptive” until the CDC can confirm the diagnosis on a retest.

The previous two cases were in the Portland metro area, and with no suspected commonality between them and the Umatilla County case, Sidelinger said Oregonians should expect the virus to spread further in the coming days.

“We anticipate that these case numbers will increase and we may see more serious illnesses and possibly even deaths within Oregon,” he said.

In wake of the news about the Umatilla County case, Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock booked an emergency flight home from the National Association of Counties legislative conference in Washington D.C., which he and the other commissioners were attending to get face time with FEMA and federal legislative staff in hopes of securing funding for the county’s flood recover efforts.

“We talked as commissioners and felt that in light of the situation, one of us needed to be home,” Murdock said Monday afternoon before boarding his flight. “My top priority is getting home as fast possible.”

Murdock is also the board’s public health liaison and said he didn’t have additional details at this time but that he’ll be back in the county by early Tuesday morning.

More information from the news release by the Oregon Health Authority:

OHA continues to recommend all people in Oregon take everyday precautions to prevent the spread of many respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and influenza:

Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Clean and disinfect surfaces that are often touched.

Take care of your health overall. Staying current on your vaccinations, including flu vaccine, eating well and exercising all help your body stay resilient.

Consult CDC’s travel website for any travel advisories and steps to protect yourself if you plan to travel outside of the US.

Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms. If you are feeling sick with mild symptoms and do not need to see medical care, stay home while you recover. If you are sick and plan to seek care, please call before going in for care so arrangements can be made to prevent exposing others. For urgent medical needs, call 911.

For more information:

OHA Emerging Respiratory Disease page: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus

Washington Department of Health: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

CDC COVID-19 page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

CDC travel notice: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices

WHO page: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/emergencies/novel-coronavirus

What is coronavirus?

The coronavirus is a family of viruses that case diseases ranging from a common cold to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The coronavirus making the news now is a new strain, discovered on Dec. 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China. It has been labeled COVID-19.

What are the symptoms?

According to the CDC, the main symptoms of COVID-19 are coughing, shortness of breath and fever, which develop between two and 14 days after exposure. Some patients merely experience a mild cough or even no symptoms, while some have experienced difficulty breathing to the point they have required hospitalization or developed pneumonia, kidney failure and other more serious complications. As of Monday, six people in the United States have died.

Is it more dangerous than the flu?

It depends on how you look at it — more people have died from the flu this winter than from COVID-19, because far more people have gotten the flu. However, the percentage of COVID-19 patients dying from the disease is higher than the percentage of flu patients dying from the flu. The CDC has reported about one tenth of one percent of people who get the flu die from it, while estimates for the fatality rate of COVID-19 have ranged from 1% to 3% of patients — China’s version of the CDC puts it at 2.3%. Like the flu, people who are elderly, very young or have underlying health conditions such as high blood pressure are more at risk of complications. Since the virus is still getting started, it’s unclear how widespread it may become in the future. And so far there is no vaccine available, unlike for the flu.

What can I do to protect myself?

COVID-19 spreads like other respiratory diseases, through droplets spread by infected people as they cough or sneeze. Therefore, preventative measures are things everyone should have already been doing all along.

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after using the restroom, when you return home, before eating or cooking, before putting in contacts, and other times that seem appropriate. When soap and water aren’t available, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Regularly sanitize surfaces, from door knobs to refrigerator handles to your cell phone. Don’t share utensils, drinks or food with others. Avoid touching any part of your face without first washing your hands. Cough and sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, stay home if you’re sick and avoid other people who are sick.

If you’re more worried than usual about germs, you can decide to take some extra precautions such as not shaking hands with people, avoiding travel or limiting the number of trips you take to public places such as grocery stores and restaurants.

What should I do if I think I have COVID-19?

Contact your primary care provider and take their advice.