Port of Siuslaw Declares State of Emergency
Last night the Port of Siuslaw passed a resolution declaring a state of emergency. During the past several months the boat launch at the port has been closed due to dredging along the marina and more recently has been closed due to the restrictions put on by Governor Brown’s executive order on March 23rd regarding Stay Home Save Lives. According to Port Manager David Huntington, keeping the launch closed was the safe and responsible thing to do even though at their core the commissioners wanted to remain open but overall public safety was of the utmost importance. The launch and fish cleaning areas will remain closed until further notice. The Port office lobby is also closed to the public, but staff is available by phone.
City of Florence: Portal for Information
City Manager Erin Reynolds says the City of Florence is getting updates regarding the COVID-19 epidemic from county, state and federal sources and is coordinated with the West Lane Emergency Operations group. She says locally the city depends on the resources provided by those agencies rather that spending local manpower to try to recreate information that is widely available, and accurate.
“You wont see a lot of things created out of the City of Florence, see us more as a portal to all the resources and or orders that are coming down from the federal, state and county level.”
The City of Florence maintains a page on its website that has all the links to pertinent information on the pandemic at ci.florence.or.us
New COVID-19 Cases
Lane County has reported 4 more cases of COVID 19. Three of the four new cases are from the Eugene/Springfield area. One is a female in her 30’s who is medically stable in a private residence, the second is a female in her 80’s who is also medically stable at home. The third is a male in his 60’s who is currently hospitalized in stable condition and the fourth is a male in his 50’s who is hospitalized in stable condition. Lane County is only saying that he is from outside the Eugene/Springfield area. There are currently 610 cases of COVID-19 in the state, 16 of those are Lane County residents. To date 12,277 individuals have tested negative for the virus and 12,883 tests have been administered.
School Planning for Distance Learning
Siuslaw School superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak says the schools are hoping to have a distance learning for all plan in place by April 13th. the current packets that have been distributed were designed to keep the students engaged during the extended spring break that resulted from Governor Brown’s order. Grzeskowiak says there is currently no specific information on when school might reopen, even though a date of April 28th is the current end to the restrictions, but they are planning for worse case and the possibility that school will not return this academic calendar. He says there is also no current guidance available regarding graduation.
