OHA release – Responding to the pressures of surging cases, OHA is changing the way testing of people with COVID-19 is tracked. Early in the pandemic the number of new people tested were measured. People who tested negative were counted only once, no matter how many negative tests administered to them. That had the effect of undercounting the number of COVID-19 tests that were actually performed. Since then testing has greatly expanded and the state’s capacity has increased significantly and that is leading to a recalculation of testing that will be based on the number of tests administered. According to Dr. Melissa Sutton, the lead medical expert for testing strategy, 916,000 people – approximately one in four Oregonians have been tested for COVID-19. Oregon ranks 30th among states in testing.
