Get a group together of 100 residents from Redmond and the odds are that at least three will test positive for COVID-19. That is according to results from random testing recently conducted by researchers from Oregon State University.

The OSU testing conducted January 29-31 suggested that 32 out of 1,000 Redmond residents test positive for COVID-19. OSU’s TRACE community, a public health surveillance project, conducted the tests, the results of which were announced Wednesday.

Concern over the spread of the virus has been heightened in recent weeks in Redmond, following last month’s outbreak of COVID-19 at the St. Charles Redmond, where more than 30 people tested positive.

Tuesday, the Oregon Health Authority lifted the “outbreak” status of the hospital as all testing over the previous 14 days related to the outbreak was negative. The results from OSU could help residents better understand how much of a threat the virus is in their community.

The 3.2% prevalence of COVID-19 in Redmond is high compared to other Oregon communities where similar testing was conducted, said Ben Dalziel, an assistant professor at OSU’s College of Science.

OSU researchers estimate that the asymptomatic prevalence within Redmond was between 60-70%, said Steve Clark, an OSU spokesperson.

“It indicates the true number (of people) infected is much higher than the number of active cases,” said Dalziel.

Redmond is home to just over 30,000 people, which is one-seventh of Deschutes County’s population of 203,000. The study therefore suggests that around 960 people could have COVID-19 in the city.

Deschutes County has reported 48 COVID-19 fatalities and 5,615 confirmed cases. The county currently has 2,272 active COVID cases — one case per 89 residents.

The Redmond sampling was the second such test in Central Oregon. A similar study conducted in Bend in May suggested that the city had one case per 1,000 residents.

Over the three-day sampling in Redmond, field teams from TRACE (Team-based Rapid Assessment of Community-Level Coronavirus Epidemics) visited 30 different neighborhoods in Redmond, visiting 251 households. Along the way, they collected nasal swabs from 376 residents.

OSU students joined health care professionals in assisting with the sampling, as they did during the spring in Bend.

Random testing such as the one done in Redmond can be complicated by false-positive results and other factors, said Dalziel. As a result, the Redmond samples yielded between one and nine positive tests.

Deschutes County Health Director Dr. George Conway said the 3.2% prevalence estimate means there is still a significant amount of COVID-19 circulating in Redmond with a continued high transmission risk.

“We strongly recommend continued universal masking when in public, maintaining social distance and meeting with others not in your household outdoors while masked or in very well-ventilated spaces,” Conway said.

In addition to the nose swabs, OSU staff and local authorities also tested wastewater for genetic material from COVID-19. Testing of sewage has been conducted multiple times per week in Redmond since Dec. 7.

Dr. Conway said his health department encouraged OSU to conduct the TRACE program in Redmond after it identified high case numbers from November into January and following repeated strong signs of the virus in wastewater.

Results of the wastewater testing indicate that the prevalence of COVID-19 remains consistently strong. However, variants of COVID-19, such as the UK, South African, and Brazilian strains, were not detected in samples taken between Jan. 14 and Jan. 29.

In addition to Redmond and Bend, OSU TRACE has also collected samples from individuals in Corvallis, Newport, Hermiston, and Eugene.