Florence Numbers and Vaccine Concerns
The Daily number of COVID-19 cases, while slower in the past week still continue to plague Lane County with occasional spikes. There were another 117 cases reported yesterday for the county and the Florence number is inching towards 150 with a new case yesterday bringing the total to 148. The county does not provide an age breakdown with regions only county wide. On Monday the OHA will authorize the next phase of vaccines and will include those over 80, long term care facilities have already been included in the overall vaccination schedule and the new guidelines will focus on many of the elderly housed in their own dwellings. Lane County and Peace Harbor officials say they are getting many calls on how to sign up for vaccinations and there are concerns that there will be limited supplies and long lines. There is also little information being distributed by state and county health agencies on how to get registered for a shot. Lane County is expected to release information today for seniors on how to get registered online or by phone. The OHA has announced that they will have a registration portal available next week.
Vaccination Goals
The state continues to work on getting to its daily goal of 12,000 covid-19 doses administered. OHA confirms that it did exceed the goal yesterday with 12,173 doses administered. The state has also received an additional 7,000 doses of the vaccine yesterday. The state has about 225,000 doses available which should account for the more than 188,000 seniors over the age of 80, but there are also some health care workers that have yet to receive the vaccine in the tri-county areas of Portland.
Goodwill Fire Info
Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue released a statement on yesterday morning’s fire at the Goodwill location on highway 101. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Fire Marshall. Siuslaw Valley Fire and rescue, Western Lane Ambulance, and Florence Police all responded to the scene. Chief Michael Schick said the number of vehicles that responded made the incident look much bigger than it was and that was proved true when social media got a hold of the information. Chief Schick reiterated that it was a small fire at the dock and that minimal damage was done. There were no injuries reported.
Weekly Rise in COVID-19 Numbers
The Oregon Health Authority released its weekly report on the coronavirus and numbers show an increase in cases over the previous week by 16%. Hospitalizations also increased by 14% with 22 new admissions. OHA is reporting that 52% of the new cases are in the younger adults from age 20-49 while 77% of the deaths associated with COVID-19 are in the over 70 population. Cases in Lane County have been declining slightly from week to week with the Eugene/Springfield metro area continuing to show the highest numbers.
