A sign from the hospital’s campaign to combat burnout is displayed at an entrance.

The Oregon Health Authority has reported 18 coronavirus cases at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.

The most recent onset was Jan. 16, according to the state. The investigation began Jan. 19.

The virus cases were disclosed Wednesday night in the health authority’s weekly report on workplace outbreaks. Workplaces with 30 or more workers appear in the report when at least five test positive for COVID-19.

“As with most of our health care colleagues, CMH has had COVID-19 exposures due to the omicron variant,” the hospital said in a statement.

“All these exposures originated outside the hospital,” the statement continued. “Every caregiver exposed or positive is following strict employee health guidelines. Staffing has been affected, but not to the extent that services are canceled.

“CMH has always been vigilant about wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), social distancing and other methods of containing exposure potential in our organization. We are a safe place to come for anyone who needs care and encourage assistance to utilize our services.

“OHSU (Oregon Health & Science University) data scientists report that the first few days of February will be the peak of the surge of this particular variant, and hospital beds will be challenging to find in Region 1. Please continue to practice safety, mask in public and curtail social activities not to overwhelm your local hospitals.”

Nancee Long, the hospital’s director of communications, said, “Everything is running as normal at the hospital.”

“We do have a bigger mass of people that are out, but those positions are being filled, and nothing has been short-staffed,” she said. “And sometimes people are working more shifts than normal, and everybody’s kind of watching out for each other.”

The Oregon National Guard recently sent five service members to Columbia Memorial to work in nonclinical jobs, such as laundry and housekeeping.

Columbia Memorial, a critical access hospital with 25 beds, is among the North Coast’s largest employers.

Over the summer, during a surge of virus cases linked to the delta variant, the health authority reported 10 virus cases linked to the hospital.

Last winter, the health authority disclosed 14 virus cases tied to the hospital.

The Oregon Health Authority, meanwhile, reported 71 new coronavirus cases for Clatsop County on Thursday and 46 new cases on Wednesday.

Since the pandemic began, the county had recorded 3,939 virus cases and 37 deaths as of Thursday.