Lane County COVID Numbers Steady
After weeks of showing little to no increase county wide the trend for new coronavirus cases is steadily growing in Lane County. The majority of the increase has been centered in the Eugene/Springfield area, but rural communities, such as Florence, could be impacted by the increases as travel to the coast is also steadily increasing. Yesterday there were 10 new cases of COVID-19 in Lane County bringing the total number of residents infected to 253. There are currently 63 infectious individuals which according to Lane County Public Health means they are sick at home. There is only one hospitalization at the moment. With more than 27 thousand tests conducted it means that just under 1% of those tested have contracted the virus. Last week’s testing in Florence did help to show that people that have had to continue to work and not able to social distance were not necessarily targets for the virus. Lane County officials say that several clusters in the college and high school ages have been responsible for a multitude of increases over the past week. Statewide there have been four more deaths to report. Bringing the state death total to 224 people. The latest deaths included a 36 year old Multnomah County resident that had underlying medical conditions. There were 217 new corona virus cases reported yesterday bringing the state total to 10,817.
Check Is In The Mail (?)
According to the State of Oregon Employment Department if you are still waiting for unemployment checks you are now in the minority. The state says it has now processed 99 percent of unemployment claims for a total of 267,000 people paid since March 15th. Interim Director of the Oregon Employment Department David Gerstenfeld held a video conference that there are still some issues involving the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or PUA. Those claims have been stymied due to a failed process. Gerstenfeld said that a new online form will hopefully begin to ease that problem. The form is intended to automatically process PUA claims. Further hampering efforts is the discovery that 5 more members of the Employment Department team have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Fishing For Halibut
Boat traffic is steadily increasing at the Port of Siuslaw Dock. According to Jay Cable at the Bridgeport Market ocean catches have been increasing in recent days with some Nice Chinook coming in. Halibut opens today and can be fished through Saturday according to ODFW. Cable says good conditions for the bar are forecast which should allow more boats to access the fishing.
Can And Bottle Drive
It may be in the distant future, but if you are suffering from too many bottles and cans building up during the corona virus, Florence habitat for humanity is hosting a bottle and can drive on August 1st from 10am until 2 pm. Volunteers will get them from your vehicle in the restore parking lot. Funds raised from the event will go towards replacing their “very tired” delivery truck.
