Rapid Testing For Coronavirus at Peace Harbor
Though testing was sparse early on due to the lack of available tests, Peace Harbor hospital has ramped up their testing and now are using the rapid response tests that were filtered down from the federal government earlier in the month. For the past several weeks the hospital has been checking patients that have to be admitted to the hospital to ensure that no COVID-19 is present. There are two test options for the hospital, one takes about 24 hours for results, the other is much quicker according to Peace Harbor’s new medical director dr. Heather MacArthur.
“The rapid test is really good at telling us if someone does not have the infection, so it is a really good screening test.”
Rumors have abounded on social media that the hospital was not doing testing, but according to the Emergency Department Director Dr. William Foster, not only has testing been on going, there have been no positives.
“Anybody admitted to the hospital does get a rapid COVID test and to date we have had no COVID patients in our hospital.”
The amount of tests is still limited though due to availability, but rural areas, such as Florence do get preferential treatment and that is according to mandates set forth by Governor Kate Brown.
Reopen Plan Has More Details
It will likely be the first week of May before the Governor’s office will lay out specific plans to reopen the state. Governor Brown indicated that the need for solid data must be present before she will begin to lift stay at home orders and allow certain businesses to begin reopening. Along with the necessary decrease in COVID case reporting, the Governor also wants ample supplies of Person Protection Equipment available and adequate testing and contact tracing guidelines cemented. Then the first phase of the reopening must also include a decline in the number of tests for a 14 day period. The second phase would allow gatherings of up to 50 people but still practice social distancing. The third phase would gradually increase the size of gatherings and allow for visitation at nursing homes. According to the plan, counties would have to specifically ask for permission to reopen.
COVID-19 Cases
The number of statewide COVID-19 cases is now at 2002, which increased by 46 since the previous reporting. For the third day in a row the Lane County Health department is reporting that there have been no new cases with 2,257 tests conducted. Multnomah, Washington, Marion, and Clackamas counties have been the hardest hit with cases with 3/4ths of the cases coming from those 4 counties. No other county has reported more that 62 cases and many have less than 10 and 4 counties have reported zero cases, but they also have tested fewer people.
Gas Prices Fall
Gasoline prices around the state are finally coming down, though not to the degree that other states have seen. Plummeting prices on the crude oil market along with low demand and full capacity at storage facilities have contributed to the decline in prices. Florence has an average price of regular gas of $2.35, but, the average price nationwide is around $1.80 a gallon. Central states are averaging the lowest prices with averages around $1.20 a gallon. Western states, which include the pacific coast and Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, continue to have the highest prices and are joined by New York and the District of Columbia. Crude oil prices ended the day yesterday around $11.00 a barrel.
