Restrictions to Lift
On the eve of restrictions form the COVID-19 pandemic being lifted in Oregon the states population is nearing the 70% mark that Governor Kate Brown had hoped would signify the states move towards a herd immunity. The 70% mark is on the lower end of acceptability for herd immunity to begin though according to Peace Harbor’s Dr. Willie Foster. Foster said in a recent interview with Coast Radio that some health officials believe that 80% or better would be a safer number. With the different variants going around including the more infectious Delta Variant researchers are concerned that they don’t really know what the magic number is. So far there is a good response to the different strains by the current vaccines available and vaccinated individuals that have come in contact with the Delta Variant seemingly have had fewer problems if they contract it. According to the CDC most states including Oregon have cases of the variant. Beginning tomorrow the state will lift restrictions and reopen the state’s economy.
4th Festivities
There is more going on than just fireworks this Sunday, Megan Messner, Assistant City Manager for the City of Florence, says:
“The city fo Florence is excited to bring back our annual Forth of July festival in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, putting on our great fireworks display in Old Town and Habitat for Humanity who is coordinating a porch parade, a bicycle parade, and the pie and watermelon eating contest… we look forward to seeing everyone back out and about in beautiful old-town Florence.”
Starting at 10:30 am, if you have a bike, trike or wagon, you can line up to be part of the bike parade which starts at Juniper and Bay Street. Bikers leave the staging area at 11am. Registration for the pie eating contest also begins at 11 am with the main event beginning at noon. The watermelon contest follows at 1 pm. All contestants must have a waiver, which can be found at florencehabitat.org or on the Habitat events page. If eating contests are not your thing, you can also register to win the porch decorating contest. You can decorate any area of your home or business visible from the street. Registration, virtual maps and voting are available at https://www.ci.florence.or.us/. And the grand finale, Florence’s Old-Fashioned 4th of July Fireworks, begins at 10 pm and will be visible along the waterfront in Old Town.
Low Case Number
The state has reported a light number of new COVID-19 cases. Yesterday there were only 87 cases reported for the entire state, but in that number Lane County had the highest total of all reporting counties with 17 including another case for the 97439 zip code. Florence has now reached 260 cases all time. There has also been an increase in hospitalizations in Lane County with 14 individuals. A rise of 4 over that past several days. 17 is still a low number for the county, but in comparison it still shows that despite vaccinations there is reason for concern among highly populated areas. In the past 7 days Lane County has had 98 new cases.
No More Weekend Updates
Beginning this weekend the Oregon Health Authority will discontinue its weekend reporting of cases and covid-19 updates. OHA Director Patrick Allen announced that after June 30th there will only be weekday press releases , newsletters and social media posts updating current conditions.
