Latest COVID-19 Report
Since Lane County Public Health and the Oregon Health authority changed the way it reports the instances of COVID-19, there has been a reduction in known cases. At home testing has increased and those who chose to go unreported or even get tested are dealing privately with the effects of covid. Lane County Public Health has moved to once a month reporting of cases by zip code, but they only have data that is provided by reported cases. Meaning the 103 new cases reported yesterday is likely only a portion of those cases being seen in Florence. Hospitalizations are still above the 300 mark with 315 individuals currently occupying beds in the state and 36 are in ICU. Since the start of the pandemic nearly 1 million Oregonians have been diagnosed with COVID and last week the OHA reported 4,312 new known cases. One of the positive areas is the number of supplemental shots that have been given. The state is reporting that 21% of individuals have opted for the bivalent booster. The test positivity continues to climb at 7.8% up a half percent from last week’s numbers.
Holiday Travel
AAA Oregon is predicting that 1.6 million Oregonians will be traveling this holiday season. Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says this is nearing pre pandemic levels and up nearly 3.3% from last year. She also says this is expected to be the third busiest season since AAA began tracking holiday numbers in 2000.
Take a Hike
You’re still taking care of your final Christmas shopping chores, so you may think talking about New Year’s Day is premature. Ryan Warren is the park manager of Jessie M. Honeyman State Park. He said they are hosting a “first day hike” again this year on January first.
“It’s a commitment to get outdoors, start the year off in a healthy way.”
Warren says though it may be almost three weeks away, it’s not too early to talk about what “first day” hikers may experience.
“Hopefully they experience sunshine, as we never know on the Oregon Coast. But you’ll see some historic structures as you walk through the hike. You’ll also see some local flora and fauna as well as wildlife.”
The hike is free and day use fees that day will be waived at every Oregon State Park. It starts at ten AM, January 1st at the Cleawox Lodge.
Boat Parade
This Sunday there will be more holiday celebrations as Siltcoos Lake will be holding a lighted boat parade on the lake. The event is open to all boats and will begin at 6pm at Darlings Marina. Individuals that wish to participate should come early.