FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020
Lincoln City Weather
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday, Independence Day Mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
Tuesday A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
The state’s death toll from COVID-19 is unchanged from yesterday and remains at 209, the Oregon Health Authority reported Friday morning, July 3, 2020.
Oregon Health Authority reported 344 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of Friday morning, bringing the state total to 9,636.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Benton (7), Clackamas (22), Clatsop (1), Columbia (3), Coos (1), Crook (1), Deschutes (9), Douglas (1), Jackson (9), Jefferson (5), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lake (1), Lane (16), Lincoln (18), Linn (2), Malheur (20), Marion (32), Morrow (10), Multnomah (59), Polk (5), Sherman (1), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (49), Union (8), Wasco (10), Washington (46), and Yamhill (1).
The Health Authority also released a table showing recent trends in cases by county between mid-June and the beginning of July.
These trends show where the COVID-19 virus is spreading at the fastest rate and which counties have the highest rates of “sporadic” transmission – i.e., cases that do not have a clear epidemiological link to other outbreaks or clusters of infections and therefore indicate that the virus is spreading uncontained in a community.
Governor Kate Brown identified eight counties that will be placed on a “Watch List” based on these data: Jefferson, Lake, Lincoln, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wasco. State and local health officials will closely monitor the situation in these counties in coming days and prioritize additional resources to suppress the virus in these hotspot communities.
To see more case and county-level data, go to the Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 website: www.healthoregon.org/coronavirus.
AROUND THE STATE
On Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at approximately 10:46 A.M., a Douglas County Deputy attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle south of Reedsport on Hwy 101. The vehicle fled and eventually crashed on Hwy 101 near milepost 217.
The operator of the vehicle is deceased.
What appeared to be explosive devices were located at the scene and the Oregon State Police Explosives Unit is heading to the scene. Oregon State Police is investigating the crash. Hwy 101 was closed for several hours with no detour available.
Oregon’s COVID-19 emergency declaration and associated public land closures coincide with what is promising to be a massive wildfire season.
That has forced private forestland owners to make difficult decisions about whether to pre-emptively close their forests to recreation to prevent wildfires that could endanger the lives of firefighters and communities. Most private forestland owners in Oregon strive to keep their forests open to the public for recreational access as good community partners, at least until fire season reaches unsafe levels. As a result they often incur significant costs in the form of vandalism, trash dumping, and increased security, as Oregon Forests Forever reported in January. This year, because state and federal recreation areas are closed due to COVID-19, the number of recreational visitors to private forests has increased substantially, as well as the trash some leave behind.
In the Grants Pass area, four new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Josephine County, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 41. Of the new cases, three are presumptive and one is confirmed.
Public Health officials were notified of the cases by the official medical record system provided by the Oregon Health Authority.
Josephine County Public Health is investigating all cases to identify contacts and exposures and to isolate and monitor all individuals relevant to the cases. Public Health will reach out to anyone suspected of exposure to COVID-19.
Of the 41 total cases, 26 individuals have recovered and one individual died from complications relating to a COVID-19 infection.
Oregon DMV online services will not be available from 6:30PM July 2 through 8AM on July 6, as part of the DMV computer system replacement.
The system being installed over the holiday weekend will bring new online services and improved efficiency to DMV when it launches on July 6. All DMV services are on hold over the weekend as computer systems are down for the technology replacement and testing. DMV encourages customers to visit www.oregondmv.com/dmv2u starting July 6, when customers will be able to get these services online: Schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment, Order a replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged driver license or ID card, Pay a reinstatement fee and Order your own driver record.