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The Oregon Health Authority said on Monday that it is currently monitoring 76 people for coronavirus.
That number could inspire fear in even the most level-headed Portlander. But here's the key number: So far, no one in Oregon has actually tested positive.
OHA began monitoring 254 people because they either recently traveled to mainland China, or they have had contact with a confirmed coronavirus case—not because they showed any symptoms of the virus.
OHA did choose to test two people who showed symptoms that could have been been related to coronavirus. But both had negative results. OHA has cleared 178 others, who did not develop any symptoms.
Oregonians are understandably on edge about coronavirus this week, especially after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control announced this morning it is bracing for an outbreak stateside.
"We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told The New York Times.
For what it's worth: More than 460 people have been hospitalized from the flu in the Portland-metro area so far during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to data from OHA.
Statewide, 682 people have tested positive for the flu (either Influenza A or B) during the current flu season. 224 people in the Portland metro area tested positive for the flu.
