Flu Data
As the flu season begins to ramp up in the new year, Oregon is showing an decrease in reported flu cases from previous weeks. Oregon public health division is showing a 12.2 percent positive testing for patients that have come through complaining of flu like symptoms. However, there has been an overall increase of .3 % of people needing to be hospitalized due to the flu. Locally in Florence a local business reported a flu like bug that was going around. It has not yet officially been recognized as the flu, but Shorewood Senior Living restricted visitors and served meals in rooms over the weekend. Reported cases are down severely over the 2017-2018 flu season that saw a large increase in reported cases in the last week of 2-17 and the first 3 weeks in 2018. In fact this year is lower than the last two flu seasons. The CDC is reporting that this year’s vaccine has been working well, but that the virus can change and they have updated the vaccine to the most current known strains.
Faultline Quake
Yesterday morning a magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck the southern junction where the two faultlines that run parallel to the Oregon coast. This particular quake was closer to the coastline, but was centered more south of the Oregon border near Petrolia California.
Help for the Coast Guard?
As the government shutdown continues concerns that our local Coast Guard station personell will not get paid heightens. Coast Guard members are prohibited from taking cash donations, but can take advantage of any service that is regularly provided to any other resident, such as food share, Siuslaw Outreach Service, and the Salvation Army. Gift cards can also be donated to the local Coast Guard officer in charge to be distributed to coast guard personnel based on need. Credit Unions are also helping out by offering a few ways to help folks get through difficult times including low interest emergency loans. Lynn Heider is with the northwest Credit Union Association.
“Financial counseling; the opportunity to sit down with someone at the credit union and review your budget and see where you have options to save money. And also, in many cases, an option to delay a loan payment – even on your mortgage or your car payment – and resume payments when the shutdown ends.”
The shutdown has affected 98-hundred employees in Oregon, according to the Washington Post. Nationwide, 380-thousand federal employees have been furloughed and aren’t working. Another 420-thousand essential personnel, such as airport security workers, are on the job without pay.
