eEdition SUNNY 68 • 55 | MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2020 | theworldlink.com
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Three new COVID-19 cases OHA releases info on new statewide cases ZACH SILVA The World
COOS COUNTY — Three new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Coos County on Saturday afternoon, according to
Oregon Health Authority. This brings the local count for the virus, that OHA is reporting, to 36. At least two of those cases are presumptive positives. OHA reported 178 new confirmed and presumptive cases across the state on Saturday. There have now been 6,750 positive and presumptive positive COVID-19 cases in Oregon.
“The number of tests performed has been steadily increasing week after week, but the number of positive cases and the test positivity rate have increased significantly over the past two weeks,” said OHA on Saturday. “This suggests increasing numbers of individuals with COVID-19, which is expected now that all counties are in Phase
1 or Phase 2 of reopening.” OHA noted that the state is reaching national testing benchmarks. “Additionally, as of early June, Oregon has reached the threshold of testing 2 percent of the Oregon population each month, a national benchmark set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last Thursday, Coos County
recorded its most recent positive COVID-19 case in a man over the age of 60 years old who had contracted the virus while travelling with his wife in an RV. Additional information about these latest cases will be released by Coos Health and Wellness on Monday, and will be reported in Tuesday’s print edition of The World.
Crabbing from the docks
Amy Moss Strong, The World
The Port of Bandon’s crabbing docks and boat launch have been well used since Memorial Day weekend.
Wyden talks with Southwestern Oregonians in virtual town hall Friday’s call included questions on forestry, healthcare and police reform ZACH SILVA The World
SOUTH COAST — In a virtual town hall focused on individuals in Douglas, Coos and Curry counties, Sen. Ron Wyden spoke with Oregonians on pressing issues for about an hour on Friday. Looking to connect with counties across the state despite a global pandemic, Wyden looked to locals to guide the conversation. One local voice came from Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins who brought up the topic of Medicaid. Cribbins stated that before the COVID-19
pandemic 25% of Coos County residents were on Medicaid, a number that has only increased as unemployment has grown to 18.8%. “Just know that we’re all in on the fight to get better medicaid reimbursements for rural Oregon. And the fact is, without rural healthcare, you can’t have rural life. This is a huge priority of mine and we’ve had battles along the way,” said Wyden. “I have no higher priority than getting a fair shake for rural Oregon and healthcare. This isn’t Joe’s job or Sally’s job or Mary’s job — this is my job. I’m the ranking Democrat on the finance committee that has jurisdiction over Medicaid.” In multiple questions, Wyden was asked about forestry and scenic lands across the area. Wyden praised the money brought in through outdoor recreation
throughout the state and referred to the “21st Century Conservation Corps for our Health and our Jobs Act” which was brought forward in May. The Act looks to add $10.6 billion in funding for the National Forest System in an attempt to get people back to work in the woods while increasing the health of forests and to help prepare for fire season. A fire season, that looks increasingly daunting. “Democrats and Republicans, we’re all saying to the forest service personnel in Washington D.C., what are you all doing to get PPE to these courageous firefighters? And what’s going to be done in terms of testing and follow-up contact tracing?,” said Wyden. He added, “Based on everything we’re hearing right now, this is going to be a fire season
where you’re going to have pandemic hit a riskier than usual fire season. And so we’re going to have our hands full.” Later in the conversation Betsy Cunningham of Roseburg brought up the conversation of the criminalization of people experiencing homelessness. Having worked with this issue for decades, Cunningham has seen continued issues with local efforts to stem this issue, especially in a time of COVID-19. Wyden noted his support of the Public Health Emergency Shelter Act, an act that he stated doesn’t provide enough resources compared to money corporations recently received, in addition to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. “I want to make it clear, I am opposed to this proposition of criminalizing the homeless as a basic theory of respect and
dignity in America. We have to ensure that so many who don’t have the opportunity for dignity which involves a shelter over their head, decent medical care that they get a fair shake in the end,” said Wyden. After recent events across the country, Joe in Roseburg submitted a question broadly addressing reform to police departments. “Police violence in brutality in effect undermine the rule of law. The rule of law is essentially a basic underpinning of a fair society. And that is why I’m a co-sponsor of the Justice in Policing Act,” said Wyden. “It’s a comprehensive blueprint for reforming the country’s broken policing system. The essence of it is transparency and accountability.” The complete town hall can be viewed on Wyden’s Facebook page.
Confederate statues come down, other symbols targeted RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Spectators in North Carolina’s capital cheered Sunday morning as work crews finished the job started by protesters Friday night and removed a Confederate statue from the top of a 75-foot monument. Across the country, an initially peaceful protest in Portland, Oregon, against racial injustice turned violent early Sunday:
Baton-wielding police used flash-bang grenades to disperse demonstrators throwing bottles, cans and rocks at sheriff’s deputies near downtown’s Justice Center. News outlets reported that work crews acting on the order of Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper removed the statue Sunday morning and began taking down the obelisk on
which it stood. Sunday’s work follows the removal of two other Confederate statues on the state Capitol grounds in Raleigh on Saturday. Cooper ordered the statues removed after protesters toppled two other Confederate statues Friday night, stringing one up by the neck and hanging it from a light pole. “Monuments to white su-
premacy don’t belong in places of allegiance, and it’s past time that these painful memorials be moved in a legal, safe way,” Cooper said in a press release Saturday. A 2015 law bars removal of the statues without approval of a state historical commission, but Cooper said he’s acting under a public-safety exception to the law out of concern for the danger
presented when protesters seek to topple the statues themselves. Cooper has advocated the statues’ removal for years. Republicans, though, blamed him for not ordering police to take a tougher stand Friday night to protect the memorials. In Wilmington, N.C., Democratic Mayor Bill Saffo imposed a curfew in a narrow area surPlease see Symbols, Page A2