The Malheur County Health Department will offer free drive-up COVID-19 testing this Friday, Feb. 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vale High School. Everyone is eligible; no symptoms, exposure or documentation are required. The event is in response to an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases in Malheur County, particularly at Vale High School.
Due to the drive-through nature of the event, test result forms will not be available; however, people who test positive will be notified. Additionally, all negative and positive student test results will be shared with Vale School District administration.
In addition to outbreaks affecting Malheur County schools and businesses, the state’s most recent county metrics report prompted a call for increased testing as the positivity rate is on an upward trend over the past four weeks.
“The report released by the Oregon Health Authority yesterday shows that our case count per 100,000 people has dropped from 499.5 to 415.2, which is great, but it also shows that our test positivity rate has jumped from 14.3% to 16.1%. That’s a significant increase,” MCHD Director Sarah Poe said. “We know that the way to get that positivity rate down is to do more testing. You can help slow the spread of COVID-19, reduce the positivity rate, and get the county open again by getting tested.”
TESTING AVAILABILITY IN MALHEUR COUNTY
Malheur County Health Department offers free COVID-19 testing by appointment four days a week at the MCHD office:
- Tuesdays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Wednesdays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 1-3 p.m. (except Feb. 5)
For an appointment or more information, call 541-889-7279.
Valley Family Health Care is offering COVID-19 testing every Monday in February, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Treasure Valley Community College baseball field in Ontario. Anyone requesting a test will be tested. There are no out-of-pocket costs, and test results are available in 15 minutes. Call VFHC at 208-452-6661 for more information.
Snake River Pediatrics Clinic, call for information, 541-216-6556.
Rite Aid, appointment required, CALL 541-889-3390.
More information is available at COVID Testing in Oregon.
Malheur County Health Department 
What I really admire about some non-Western cultures is their general belief in and practice of not placing their aged family members in seniors care homes.
As a result, family caregivers don’t have to worry over those loved-ones being left vulnerable by cost-cutting measures taken by some care-home business owners to maximize profits.
As for care-home neglect, it was present before Covid-19; however, we didn’t fully comprehend the degree until the pandemic really hit.
Business mentality and, by extension, collective society, allowed the well-being of our oldest family members to be decided by corporate profit-margin measures. And our governments mostly dared not intervene, perhaps because they feared being labelled as anti-business in our avidly capitalist culture.
But, as clearly evidenced by the many needless care-home resident Covid-19 deaths, big business does not always know or practice what’s best for its consumers, including the most vulnerable with little or no voice.