Oregon – and the rest of the U.S. – could be in for a long wait before we see good, fast and cheap tests for the conavirus.

“I think tests are pretty good in their accuracy, and the speed of getting the test results and the cost of the test can vary in different communities,” said Dr. Dawn Nolt, the medical director for infection prevention at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. “But right now, I think the barriers are really supply chain, which fluctuates due to demand. And also, really, the demand can slow down testing speeds.”

Nolt, who discussed the varieties of tests available, and the race to develop a vaccine, estimated it will be six months or longer before good, fast and cheap testing is widely available to Americans.

Oregon reports a second prison death from the coronavirus

The Oregon Department of Corrections Friday confirmed that a second inmate has died from the coronavirus while in the agency’s custody.

Snake River Correctional Institution, a prison in Ontario, reported Wednesday to Oregon DOC that an unnamed man between the ages of 60 and 70 years old had died in the facility’s infirmary.

Oregon DOC said it postponed issuing a press release until receiving COVID-19 test results for the inmate. Those results came back positive Friday.

Like any in-custody death, the Oregon State Police have been notified, DOC said, and the medical examiner will determine the man’s cause of death.

Oregon office workers must wear masks when near others

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown detailed mask rules for office workers in the state on Friday.

People must wear face coverings or face shields in both private and public offices in any areas where 6 feet of distance from other people cannot be maintained — including bathrooms, hallways, elevators and break rooms, according to the rules. They can remove their face coverings briefly in situations where someone’s identity needs to be confirmed — such as in banks or in interactions with law enforcement.

Official counts likely miss hundreds of Oregon infections

Oregon’s official COVID-19 case count is far too low to be considered accurate, according to a study that tested Oregon residents for antibodies for the novel coronavirus. The research was conducted by the Oregon Health Authority and published as a Field Note in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Since the study period was completed two months ago, the report can’t say much about how many people in Oregon have been exposed to COVID-19 as of today.

“Since then, we’ve accrued a lot of cases,” said Paul Cieslak, a scientist at OHA and an author on the study. “Our current estimates of cumulative cases in the state of Oregon are something closer to 2.5%.”

Because the sample size is so small, Cieslak cautioned against using it to determine how many people in Oregon have COVID-19. “It’s just one datapoint.”

Oregon coronavirus diagnoses continue to climb

The Oregon Health Authority reported 412 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, and one new death.

A large share of new diagnoses were in the Portland metro area, with 79 in Multnomah County, 56 in Washington County and 38 in Clackamas County. Marion County reported 75 new cases, and Umatilla County had 36.

A 71-year-old Jefferson County man with underlying medical conditions was the most recent death. He was diagnosed Aug. 6 and died Saturday at St. Charles Bend Medical Center.

Since the start of the pandemic, 23,018 people in Oregon have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and 386 deaths have been linked to the virus.

On Friday, state officials reported an outbreak of 22 cases of COVID-19 at Columbia Basin Onion in Umatilla County. That case count includes all people linked to the outbreak, such as employees, their household members or other close contacts. An outbreak investigation began Aug. 1, the Oregon Health Authority said, but the initial case count at the time was below the threshold for public disclosure.

Clark County, Washington, reports COVID-19 death

Another 38 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and one person – a man in his 70s with undetermined underlying conditions – has died, officials in Clark County, Washington, said Friday. The county public health agency said 2,219 Clark County residents have tested positive and 43 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

Statewide, Washington has confirmed 66,139 COVID-19 cases and 1,755 deaths, according to the latest available data.