MEDFORD, Ore. — With Jackson County now at 39 confirmed coronavirus cases, the county says it’s still preparing to hit a peak number of cases in the coming weeks.
Health Officer Dr. Jim Shames says we have some people sick enough to be hospitalized from the virus locally, but healthcare workers aren’t overwhelmed.
He says the hope is that we can slow down the spread of the virus enough so we can get a vaccine or develop treatments that are effective.
However, that will take time.
“If 20 or 30 percent of the population has gotten Covid-19 by the time a couple of months goes by, then what about the other 70 percent. How are we going to protect them? It’s an ongoing issue and it’s not going to be solved quickly,” he said.
How to relax social distancing restrictions that we’re currently engaged in without relaxing it so much that we get back into trouble, he says, will be the tricky part.
Dr. Shames says those conversations will be happening within the next month or so.
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