Lane County Officially to Move to High
Lane County has officially been moved to the High Risk Category due to current COVID-19 infections. The risk level change will take effect on Friday and run through at least May 6. Lane was one of 6 counties that jumped past the Moderate Level directly to High. The Move was anticipated by the City of Florence as even the numbers for the area continued to increase. Florence has now seen 216 cases of COVID-19 with another case added to yesterday’s numbers. Lane County saw the numbers increase by 67 cases and the state reported 580 new cases. The recent surge in Florence is likely due to an outbreak at a local house of worship. Coast Radio has received several reports from individuals that have admitted to testing positive in recent days. The outbreak is unconfirmed by county health officials at this point and the individuals have asked not to be named.
Vaccination Spaces Still Available
There are still over 500 spaces available for this Friday’s mass vaccination clinic at the Florence Events Center. 1000 doses are slated to be administered, but as of this morning less than half of the number of appointments have been selected. The process is simple to complete. Individuals interested in receiving their first dose of the vaccine can go to lanecounty.org/vaxclinics and click on request a vaccine appointment. It is an easy step process and there are plenty of appointment choices available throughout the day.
Gas Prices Rise
The steady gas prices from a week ago are no more. This past week demand for fuel was up across the state according to Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon. The increased demand caused a jump in prices across the state with Florence being affected. The average price in Florence for a gallon of regular gas has risen to $3.20. Demand is at its highest level since before the p[andemic. Dodds says that even with production at 85% of capacity it was not enough to keep prices at bay.
Burn Ban
The current ban on Spring burning is still in effect and is slated to expire on Thursday, but that could be extended as there is no rain expected until at least Friday night. Rain is forecast to return to the area beginning late Friday and continuing through at least Tuesday. Spring burning usually is allowed through mid-june but the dry weather has made conditions hazardous for outdoor burning.
