Warm Springs has first 2 COVID-19 cases after possible exposure at salmon feast

Everyone who attended recent event urged to stay home until Sunday

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Warm Springs Indian Reservation reported Tuesday evening it has two confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 after a recent salmon feast in Celilo Village.

The tribes said anyone who attended the feast over Easter weekend may have been exposed to the virus. They said they have tested 38 people in Warm Springs, with 33 of them returning negative results and two results still pending.

Anyone who attended the Celilo Salmon Feast is asked to call Warm Springs Public Health at (541) 553-2460 or the Warm Springs Health & Wellness nurse line at (541) 553-5512 or the after-hours line at (866) 470-2015.

Anyone who attended the event was urged to stay home until Sunday, even if they don’t show symptoms or have a negative test.

All community residents are urged to monitor themselves for symptoms of a cough, fever and shortness of breath. If you develop the symptoms, you’re urged to call the clinic to make a plan of care.

Residents are urged to stay home, not visit others and only leave for necessities, and also to wear a mask when you leave the house.

“Do not have visitors in your house,” the announcement said. “Do not invite others from far away to come to Warm Springs. (especially if they live in areas with high COVID-19 cases such as Washington or California).”

On an unrelated note, a boil-water notice issued last Thursday for the Kah-Nee-Ta Hamlets on the reservation was lifted Tuesday afternoon after repairs were completed to a break in a six-inch water line and negative tests were conducted for bacterial contamination.