About a third of the 31 caregivers at St. Charles Redmond who tested positive for COVID-19 had received their first dose of the vaccine at the time of the outbreak, a hospital official said.

St. Charles Health System, which employs about 4,500 people in Central Oregon, began vaccinating care providers on Dec. 21, said Lisa Goodman, health system spokeswoman. As of Thursday, St. Charles Redmond has vaccinated 62% of its 450 staff in Redmond.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that two doses are required to achieve immunity from COVID-19. Both brands of vaccines require two shots, one 21 days after the first and the other 28 days. A person may not be protected fully from the virus until a week or two after the second dose.

A COVID-19 positive patient who visited the St. Charles Redmond hospital in Redmond has been identified as the source of the infection.

The unnamed patient was admitted to St. Charles Redmond on Dec. 31 and tested twice for COVID-19 and both tests were returned as negative, according to a release from St. Charles Health System. The patient was tested again on Jan. 6 and the results were positive.

The patient was not wearing a mask during the visit due to underlying health conditions that made mask wearing difficult.

“We have taken many steps to mitigate this outbreak,” Goodman said in an email. “The community should feel confident and safe seeking needed care at the Redmond hospital.”

According to a weekly outbreak report by the Oregon Health Authority, there are 10 workplace outbreaks of COVID-19 in Central Oregon. Most are at assisted living facilities. Five deaths have been reported in these ongoing outbreaks, the longest is at the Mt. Bachelor Assisted Living facility where 29 people have tested positive, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The hospital said it is taking steps to protect patients and caregivers by adding additional COVID-19 protections.

All Redmond-based caregivers can be tested for COVID-19; caregivers are asked to stay home and get tested if they have symptoms, no matter how mild. Other protections include increasing air filtration, requiring caregivers who care for patients to use N95 respirators and eye protection throughout their shifts while the outbreak is ongoing, boosting hand sanitizer and cleaning throughout the facility and asking caregivers to eat in the cafeteria or outside patio rather than in a break room, according to the hospital.

Late last year, 160 nurses at each of the four St. Charles hospitals — Redmond, Bend, Madras and Prineville — signed a petition urging hospital administrators to boost staffing and provide more personal protective equipment. The petition came after administrators blamed nurses in an email of spreading COVID-19.

There have been 71 deaths and 15,275 cases associated with all workplace outbreaks that have been reported to date, according to the Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 weekly report. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 373,670 positive test results among medical caregivers and 1,269 health care workers have died from COVID-19.

“We hope our community understands and will help us by following all COVID-19 restrictions, both inside and outside our facilities,” said Aaron Adams, chief executive officer for the Redmond hospital, in a prepared statement.