Governor To Reveal Plan to Reopen Oregon
This morning at 11 am Governor Kate Brown will hold a press conference to introduce her framework for reopening Oregon. She will discuss the economic framework for a joint agreement that was made between west coast states. A joint statement was released yesterday by Governor Brown, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Washington Governor Jan Inslee. The statement was clear to identify that it would be in conjunction with health authorities and science as to when commerce and social activities would get back to a more normal state and not politics. Special care will be made to protect the vulnerable population according to the joint statement, as well as maintaining adequate supplies of personal protection equipment and preparations were a surge on hospitals to happen. Several other things will also have to be worked out in order to move forward. All three states are working on a system for testing, tracking and isolating cases more efficiently. This morning Governor Brown will be joined by representatives of the Oregon Health Authority and the Governor’s Medical Advisory Panel.
Motorcyclist Injured
Yesterday afternoon a motorcyclists was injured and taken to Peace Harbor Hospital after a three vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 101 and 34th street. Oregon State Police and Florence Police are investigating. No names or details have been released yet.
Latest Numbers on COVID-19
The latest positive COVID-19 case in Lane County is a female in her 50’s from the Eugene/Springfield area. The last update from lane county was at 4:18 yesterday afternoon bringing the total to 43 positive cases. The OHA update yesterday showed the total of positive cases to be 1,584 which did not include the latest Lane County number. The state of Oregon also reported an additional death as a result of the coronavirus bringing the total to 53 in the state.
Oregon OSHA Inundated With Coronavirus Complaints
Oregon’s division of OSHA is ramping up its inspections as a response to complaints that it is receiving regarding businesses that are not following proper social distancing while performing business. The increased monitoring and enforcement will be targeted to specific complaints against businesses that may be in violation of Governor Kate Brown’s Executive order. Authorities say that complaints began coming in the week of March 23rd but tapered off in the weeks to follow. To date there have been 2,887 COVID-19 related complaints. OSHA generally receives around 2000 complaints each year.
Gas Prices Dip
Gas prices in Florence have dipped .20 cents in the last week and a half and are averaging $2.41 a gallon. Florence, which is generally a few cents cheaper on average than Eugene is now about .25 cents higher. Crude oil prices are still low at about 21 dollars a barrel. Declines in consumption is a big contributor to the price as US and other producers are having to cut back production due to lack of storage available.
LRAPA Opens Burning
The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency has reopened outdoor burning after a brief closure. Burning will be permitted in coastal Lane County from 8am until 6 pm daily. As always, burning within the city of Florence’s limits is prohibited.
OCHS Names New Director
The Oregon Coast Humane Society has announced that they have hired a new Executive Director to take over the reins of the facility. Charles Brown reached out to Coast Radio to say that he was in transit to Florence from Hawaii and will be available on Thursday, which is his official start date, to discuss the current challenges facing the OCHS.