The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Monday, December 14, 2020
Oregon Beach Weather
Today- A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. South southwest wind around 6 mph.
Tuesday- Rain, mainly before 4pm. High near 50. Windy, with a south southwest wind 17 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Wednesday- Rain. High near 52. Breezy, with a south wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Thursday- A 50 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52.
Friday- A chance of rain after 10am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 52. Breezy.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 1,048 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the state total to 93,853.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (4), Benton (21), Clackamas (112), Clatsop (3), Columbia (15), Coos (11), Crook (7), Curry (14), Deschutes (39), Douglas (20), Hood River (13), Jackson (90), Jefferson (17), Josephine (11), Klamath (28), Lake (1), Lane (88), Lincoln (12), Linn (24), Malheur (4), Marion (150), Morrow (4), Multnomah (172), Polk (15), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (36), Union (2), Wasco (9), Washington (108), Yamhill (17).
COVID-19 has claimed six more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 1,155, Oregon Health Authority reported Sunday.
— The Oregon Health Authority responded to the news of The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issuing the first emergency use authorization on Dec. 11th for a vaccine to prevent COVID-19. Officials say the vaccine, made by Pfizer-BioNTech, was found to be 95% effective in Phase 3 clinical trials that involved more than 40,000 participants
and caused only mild, temporary side effects, including pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever.
OHA says it is working with all hospitals are care providers in efforts to connect with individuals and organizations representing communities of color, tribal communities and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through a diverse Vaccine Advisory Committee that is co-creating a vaccine distribution plan centering on the experiences of these populations.
Lane County COVID-19 Deaths Doubled Over Last 30 Days
s of Saturday, COVID-19 has killed 72 Lane County residents, with 35 of those deaths happening over the prior 30 days. Though the countywide death toll has been ticking up steadily since mid-August, when the death toll was four, the pandemic’s ninth month signals darker days ahead.
Case counts in Lane County are spiking for the third time this year, but the upward trend since about mid-September has sickened and killed the most people. On Sept. 14, Lane County had logged a total of 867 cases. By Saturday, nearly three months later, the countywide case count total had reached 5,485 — a 532% increase.
“If we continue on the current trajectory, we will have a lot more deaths. That’s the sad truth,” said Lane County Public Health spokesman Jason Davis.
It wasn’t until 40 days after the first death, April 23, that COVID-19 claimed a second Lane County life, this time a 59-year-old man. Then a third victim, a 62-year-old man, died May 4,at which time the countywide confirmed case count stood at just 55 cases.
By the time of the county’s fourth death on Aug. 12, 100 days later, the case count had reached 606, a 697% increasefrom the time of the county’s third death in May. Three more Lane County residents would die from the disease in August. But the local death toll increased by 15 in September, bringing total local deaths to 22 by the end of the month.
Public health and medical officials believe community efforts in the first months of the pandemic kept case counts, and local deaths, relatively low. That gave hospitals a chance to prepare and the county time to get ready for the future viral spread. “We were very aware this could be a public health catastrophe,” Davis said.
But Davis said those early months also may have contributed to a false sense of safety in Lane County, and in Eugene-Springfield where the largest portion of people with COVID-19 lived. Many let the guard down, and the rate at which new cases appeared began to increase.
The spike in September fatalities largely was due to deaths at assisted living facilities where 11 of the 15 Lane County residents who month died that month of COVID-19 lived. As of Saturday, 32 county residents have died in outbreaks at assisted living facilities.
“Especially in a long-term care facility, where you have a caretaker going from room to room, then you have a situation where not only do you have a population that can be adversely affected, but it can move like wildfire through that population,” Davis said.
Davis said assisted living facility outbreaks are one of the worst possible outcomes for the way individuals’ behavior can have far-reaching and dangerous consequences.
As summer months passed without huge spikes in cases, Davis said many in Lane County relaxed precautions. Case spikes since mid-September can be linked to parties around Labor Day, Halloween and after college students returned to local campuses.
In one case, someone who got sick at a college-age party in early October later got someone at a church sick. That person’s case caused a workplace outbreak, which lead to a household transmission that infected a long-term care facility staffer, Davis said. Davis said no one died during the following outbreak at the long-term care facility, but such epidemiological links show how personal behavior affects the whole community. “Your bubble is bigger than you think it is,” Davis said.
The immediate future does not appear bright.
“If you look at the national projections and the state projections, they all project we’re going to get much worse after Christmas and the New Year into January and February,” said Dr. James McGovern, vice president of medical affairs for PeaceHealth.
More than 20 Lane County residents have died of COVID-19 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, and others have died after being treated there.
McGovern said the hospital in many ways is better equipped to fight the pandemic than it was earlier this year, having had time to practice its COVID-19 mitigation protocols and secure stores of the personal protective equipment that once had been in short supply.
But over the past two weeks, he said the hospital has had about 25 COVID-19 patients every day, often with four or five fighting for their lives in the intensive care unit. Heather Wall, the hospital’s chief nursing officer, said the patient count there at one point was 33. “We are in the thick of it,” Wall said.
The latest state projections offered two scenarios for expected case growth between Dec. 11 and Christmas Eve, the direr of them contingent on Thanksgiving behavior.
“These results highlight how the level of COVID-19 activity depends strongly on the collective success of mitigation efforts in the coming months,” the projection report said.
If the rate of spread stays the same as estimated on Nov. 19, the statewide projections suggest there could be an average 2,000 new cases diagnosed a day between Dec. 11 and Dec. 24 with new severe cases increase to 75 per day by Dec. 24. If Thanksgiving leads to an increase in transmission similar to Halloween, the projections indicate an average 2,700 new diagnosed cases per day between Dec. 11 and Dec. 24, with new severe cases increasing to 110 per day by Dec. 24.
On Saturday, the Oregon Health Authority reported 1,440 new cases. OHA reported 1,610 new cases Friday. The state reported Friday that 16 more Oregonians has died from COVID-19, and on Saturday another 13 deaths were reported. The winter holidays possibly could be one of the last tests of Americans’ patience before a vaccine begins widespread distribution. Public health and medical professionals are begging locals to keep their gatherings small — all to avoid another spike in deaths.
“It’s very hard. We’ve given up a lot during calendar year 2020,” Wall said. “Nobody wants to change their holiday plans. It’s just a moment in time we have to do things differently, celebrate differently, be together virtually, to get us through this winter.”
Three hurt in 4-vehicle crash on Highway 101 near Manzanita
Three hurt in 4-vehicle crash on Highway 101 near Manzanita (Courtesy OSP)
MANZANITA, Ore. — Oregon State Police said three people were hurt in a four-vehicle crash on Highway 101 in Tillamook County Sunday morning.
The crash happened at around 11:40 a.m. on the highway north of Manzanita
Investigators say a silver 2010 Infinity G37X, a silver 2019 GMC Sierra, and a silver 2009 Nissan Xterra were driving south on Highway 101, and a tan Ford motorhome was going north.
According to Oregon State Police, the Infinity turned left into the northbound lane, and the front of the car hit the rock embankment on the shoulder of the road. That’s when the motorhome struck the passenger side of the Infinity, and the Infinity spun several times and stopped in the northbound lane, troopers say.
The motorhome also hit the GMC and the front of the Nissan, causing them both to spin. The driver of the Infinity was rushed to the hospital. The passenger of the Infinity and the passenger of the motorhome were also taken to the hospital.
Witnesses say the Infinity had been swerving out of its lane for miles before the crash and almost caused two other crashes, according to OSP. According to Oregon State Police, multiple empty alcohol containers were found in Infinity and the driver of that car admitted to drinking and using cocaine that day. OSP says an investigation is ongoing.
AROUND the STATE of OREGON
The first doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine have arrived in Oregon, health officials said on Monday.
According to Governor Brown, 100,000 first doses are expected to be administered before the end of the year. Those first doses will go to frontline health care workers, and people living in long-term care facilities.
State officials have said they expect to get 35,100 initial doses from Pfizer this week as part of a broader shipment plan. That COVID-19 vaccine was approved by federal officials last week and on Sunday got the OK from a a review board set up by Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.
Even though the vaccine has been reviewed and evaluated multiple times, and got the green light from the FDA, some people are still hesitant in getting the shots. This has some state health leaders concerned.ADVERTISING
Their goal now is to make sure patients are well informed on proven facts. Washington’s state health department is planning to have commercials and other ways of reaching people. In Oregon, Governor Brown said state health leaders are working on outreach efforts to build confidence in the vaccine, and cut down on the amount of fear or hesitation.
According to Washington state health leaders, in order to curb COVID-19 in Washington, at least 70% of its population has to be vaccinated. “This is what experts feel is the level for herd immunity which is the point where outbreaks no longer occur in a population,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, Washington’s state health officer.
Health leaders from four western states said there is uncertainty when it comes to things like allergic reactions, and how the vaccine performs in pregnant women and those under the age of sixteen. These studies are still ongoing.
RELATED | ‘Sleeves rolled up and ready to go’: Washington hospitals eagerly await vaccine arrival
“I think the best way to interpret uncertainty is not as a problem but as things we haven’t determined yet,” Dr. John Dunn, a member of Western State Workgroup. “It should be emphasized that these studies are ongoing.”
TIME IS ALMOST OUT TO GET HEALTH COVERAGE FOR 2021
News Release from Oregon Dept. of Consumer & Business Services
Posted on FlashAlert: December 14th, 2020 7:00 AM
(Salem) – Open enrollment, which began Nov. 1, ends Tuesday, Dec. 15. Oregonians who do not receive health insurance through work, Medicare, or the Oregon Health Plan will need to sign up for health insurance at HealthCare.gov on or before Dec. 15 if they want to have coverage in 2021.
“We don’t want Oregonians to be left uncovered, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Chiqui Flowers, administrator of the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. “2020 has proven how vital health coverage is to the financial and health future of Oregonians statewide.”
Consumers can look at plans and find out how much of a subsidy they are eligible for by going to HealthCare.gov.
“You can get help paying for health insurance based on your income,” said Flowers. “Don’t assume you make too much to be eligible.”
Individuals making $51,040 or less per year, and families of four making $104,800 or less, may get help paying for coverage. In 2020, more than seven in 10 Oregonians who chose plans through HealthCare.gov got financial help for monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs. These savings lowered the average premium to just $145 per month.
The Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, a part of state government, helps people get health insurance when they do not have job-based coverage, and do not qualify for the Oregon Health Plan or another program. The Marketplace is the state-level partner to HealthCare.gov, and a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS). For more information, go to OregonHealthCare.gov.
COVID-19 outbreak at Oregon Employment Department’s Major Claim Center in Wilsonville.
Oregon Employment Department employees continue to whittle away at backlogs of claims and benefit payments despite a COVID-19 outbreak at its major claims center in Wilsonville.
According to the weekly compilation by the Oregon Health Authority, the center reported 14 cases as of Nov. 28, up from the 11 acknowledged last week by acting Employment Department Director David Gerstenfeld.
It is one of seven state government workplaces reporting outbreaks (minimum five cases) of the 124 statewide on the Health Authority’s list. The others are the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, two prisons in Salem and prisons in Madras, Ontario and Pendleton.
Gerstenfeld says the outbreak spurred his agency to continue to move hundreds of employees toward working remotely. About 600 employees, many hired within the past few months to process the growing workloads, were housed in the 100,000-square-foot building in Wilsonville.
“We were seeing an increase in positive COVID-19 cases among our own employees, an increase that mirrors what has been happening across the country and throughout the state,” he told reporters Wednesday, Dec. 9, during a weekly conference call.
“Fortunately, the disruption to handling our claims is less than we had feared. We are not slowing down, and we will keep confronting every challenge that faces us.”
The Wilsonville building remains open.
Gerstenfeld said claims for unemployment benefits still in “adjudication,” which require further review, were down from 52,000 Sept. 30 to around 12,600. About 22,000 await payment of their waiting-week benefits, down from an estimated 170,000 whose payments required some kind of manual processing. A total of $269 million has been paid to 385,000 people.
Gerstenfeld said he is optimistic that agency employees will be able to complete both tasks by the end of December.
As a result of the two-week business freeze ordered by Gov. Kate Brown that ended Dec. 3, plus seasonal changes, the Employment Department received about 53,000 claims for unemployment benefits, slightly more than the 51,000 it projected. About 19,000 were newly filed claims, and 34,000 were restarts of previous claims, for which the agency has information on file. The normal benefit period is 26 weeks.
Gerstenfeld said the most recent claims backlog for regular unemployment benefits was about 2,200, most being processed within five days of filing. He said the oldest ones date back to Nov. 18.
The agency has paid out $6.2 billion in benefits since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March. Gerstenfeld said that sum equals the amount that the agency has paid out during the past decade.
Jefferson woman shot husband after argument
AJefferson woman was arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday afternoon after allegedly shooting her husband as he attempted to leave their residence following an argument.
Alicia Victoria Torres, 37, is suspected of second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Torres was lodged at the Marion County Jail on a no-bail hold on Sunday afternoon, according to the jail’s website. The shooting occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in front of a home in the 600 block of Union Street, according to a news release.
A deputy who handles the city of Jefferson for MCSO was the first to arrive in the area and detained Torres, who was actively being confronted by neighbors, the news release states. Her husband, Donald Secrest, 43, was transported to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t life threatening. Detectives then responded and preliminary investigation revealed that the disturbance began inside the home, where Torres is alleged to have been the aggressor during an argument with Secrest, according to the news release. Secrest attempted to leave the residence, and Torres reportedly shot him once while he was in his car backing out of the driveway. The couple’s three children witnessed the shooting, the news release states.
A Keno man died and numerous others were injured as vehicles crashed on icy roads
Saturday in the Klamath Basin.
Overnight snow mixed with morning fog to createtreacherous conditions, according to Oregon State Police Sgt. Bob Fenner. Ralph Brown, 82, of Keno, died after his pickup truck, traveling southbound on Highway 97 near the Oregon/California border about 9:10 a.m., lost control on icy roads. The vehicle crossed the median and slammed into a northbound semi-truck. Thomas Brown, 28, a passenger in the pickup, was seriously injured. According to OSP, the driver of the semi was taken to Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls with injuries. As traffic backed
up behind the scene, six more vehicles crashed and more than 10 left the roadway, including numerous semi-trucks.
Just minutes before that collision, Klamath Falls Police Department officers were on the scene of a separate crash on Highway 97 near the Pilot Travel Center in Klamath Falls when a semi-truck lost control and struck three
patrol cars and a fire engine. The truck driver fled the scene and as of Saturday evening had not been apprehended.According to Washington state health leaders, in order to curb COVID-19 in Washington, at least 70% of its population has to be vaccinated. “This is what experts feel is the level for herd immunity which is the point where outbreaks no longer occur in a population,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, Washington’s state health officer.