So it looks like Oregon’s luck may be beginning to turn in the fight to keep safe from the coronavirus. Our infection rates are still lower than most states, but as populous Multnomah County and the surrounding region continue to re-open, the state has seen record highs of positive tests over the past two weeks. According to the Oregonian, “Up until two weeks ago, Oregon had never had a day on which more than 100 cases of COVID-19 were reported. Since then, it’s had 12 such days, and two of them surpassed 200 cases.”

Also a little nerve-wracking is that the state is having trouble determining the source of infections; the Oregonian reports that, “Public health officials are struggling to discern how Oregonians are being exposed to the virus. According to the latest data, for the week June 8-14, contact tracers were unable to identify the source of infection for 36% of new cases statewide. In the Portland area — encompassing Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties — it was even worse: 48%.”

I don't want to be a backseat driver to the decisions of Oregon health officials, but it seems that there's not a lot of margin for error for getting the public health approach to the coronavirus right in Oregon. Their task is obviously even tougher in light of the clusterf*ck of a federal response, but to me, it feels like both deep caution and an aggressive response are the order of the day.

I also read this weekend that Germany, which has been viewed as having done a good job among European countries in containing the virus, saw its infection rate increase to the point that it is again growing among the population. Such news should be a reminder that this is an extremely communicable and nasty disease that can readily flare up even after periods of apparent success combating it.