Florence Case – Lane County 172 Weekend Cases
A new case of COVID-19 has been reported for the Florence area making the sum total of cases 35. The new reporting comes as Governor Kate Brown issues a “stay of activities” for 5 counties in the state. Lane County was not among the 5 counties that have been experiencing a severe upswing in coronavirus cases, but weekend numbers are concerning as Lane County Public Health reports another 172 cases over the last three days. As cases continue to grow there is the concern that schools will be delayed in reopening. Currently Siuslaw Schools has the hope of bringing at least some students back on campus in late December, but even one case a week could derail that hope. Even with the new metrics announced by Governor Brown the 97439 zip code is still mimicking the larger numbers in Eugene based on the number or residents along the coast. In the Governor’s report she lists Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Jackson and Umatilla counties to be limited in social activities with 5 more counties being considered this week. The additional 5 counties are Washington, Baker, Union, Clackamas, and Linn.
Huge Spike For State COVID-19 Cases
The current total for Lane County coronavirus cases is 2,884 and over the weekend the rate of persons considered infectious jumped to 256, over 100 more cases than last week’s high. Statewide there were 2,632 new cases including another one day record total of 988 cases reported on Saturday. Sunday saw another 874 increase. Cumulative cases of the Coronavirus have now exceeded 50 thousand with 50,448 cases. There were also 20 new deaths reported over the weekend bringing that total to 730.
Flu Continues Slow Start
Flu cases for the state continue to be held at bay. There were only 2 cases reported out of the 844 tests that were administered last week. The Oregon Health Authority reports that one case was located in Southern Oregon and the other in the Columbia Gorge area. Compared to previous year the start of this flu season is getting a slow start, but in the month of November last year cases began to rise slowly into the third week with the first spike coming around Christmas. With reduced travel this year there may not be the impact that previous years have had, based on projections from this past winter in the southern hemisphere. People staying at home and limiting travel helped to curb the spread of influenza in places like Australia and New Zealand.
Special Council Meeting
The Florence City Council will hold a special meeting this evening to hear the appeal of Planned Unit Development for the property at Rhododendron and 35th street initiated by AIPC Holdings. City staff has been reviewing the almost 500 pages submitted in response to concerns local citizens had to the project including water run-off, Traffic, installing a turn lane southbound on Rhododendron onto 35th street. Residents in the area would also like to have minimum rental stipulations enacted so that the area is less likely to be used as vacation rentals. The City Council will meet tonight at 5:30 to review and consider the appeal based on the additional information provided by the developer. Interested parties can access the meeting through a link provided at the city’s website. Ci.florence.or.us.