Weekend Coronavirus Numbers
Over the weekend coronavirus cases continued to mount for Lane County. The three day period from Friday to Sunday saw one of the heaviest periods in recent months. 160 new cases were reported that included 3 new cases for the Florence area. Bringing the Florence total to 193. Another number that has health officials concerned is the number of individuals that are considered infectious. That number has grown to 320 which could trigger a more severe outbreak in the coming week. One good note for the county is the number of hospital beds currently being used by COVID-19 patients and that number is 7. According to the Oregon Health Authority the number of vaccinations has also been increasing of late. Over the past 7 day period the OHA has averaged 37,256 doses daily. The number of total doses is near 2.3 million administered. The other good news is that the number of deaths associated with the coronavirus only increased by one over the weekend leaving the death toll at 2,440.
Seasonal Flu Still Down
The seasonal flu continues to be the lowest it has been in many years. There were only two reported cases of the flu in the state. One was in the valley and the other was in Central Oregon. Both recent cases were in persons above the age of 50. Health authorities are hailing the efforts of social distancing and mask wearing as well as increased awareness of hand cleansing. The report from OHA is a two-edged sword with still thousands of cases of COVID-19 being reported weekly.
Work Session
The City of Florence’s work session for Monday includes more discussion of the 2021-2023 work plan. The council is currently reviewing a draft of the plan. Included in the proposed plan are items dealing with Family Wage Jobs and Workforce Development as well as housing efforts and initiatives. The draft of the proposed plan can be viewed on the city’s website at ci.florence.or.us.
Gas Prices
The Price of a regular gallon of gas has been steady for the past two weeks in Florence. The current average is at $3.09 a gallon and has not been affected by the current climb in demand. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon is reporting a 4% increase in usage over the previous week and that has not had an effect on the overall price for the state of Oregon. AAA is reporting that demand is starting to increase to pre-COVID-19 levels with more increases expected as spring travel continues to grow. Supplies of gasoline are at the lowest level since the beginning of the year according to Dodds.
