SHC826

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Schools remain closed

Pandemic cases stabilizing CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net

new restrictions possible

While COVID-19 numbers remain fairly consistent across Oregon, there is encouraging information about the cases in Columbia County. “We’re no longer showing a rapid increase of positive cases,” Columbia County Public Health Director Mike Paul told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19.

MAX KIRKENDALL newsguardeditor@countrymedia.net

On Jan. 21, Oregon established the Incident Management Team to prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 infections in Oregon. Five week’s later the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported Oregon had it’s first case. Since then, Oregon has had over 25,000 cases and 420 COVID-19 related deaths as of Aug. 24. Fortunately, new OHA modeling shows that cases in Oregon are leveling off, but not at the rate needed for Oregon to reopen schools for in-person education, Governor Kate Brown announced today. Brown held a press conference August 21 with OHA Director Pat Allen and Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state epidemiologist and state health officer, to discuss Oregon’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Balancing act “Today, after six months, some say my orders are too restrictive, that the virus isn’t dangerous or even that it’s a hoax,” Brown said. “Others say I haven’t done enough, that we should shut down the entire economy immediately and start from scratch, regardless of the cost to people’s livelihoods. The truth is, those commenting on the far ends of this debate, well… They are missing the point. This has always been a balancing act.” Brown said she and her staff worked hard to follow medical data when making decisions about restrictions and so far, they have been successful in flattening the curve, as Oregon has one of the lowest mortality rates in the entire country. However, Brown said their efforts have not been enough to open schools anytime soon. “Our infection rate is still too high to get all of our kids safely back into our classrooms in most of our schools this fall,” Brown said. “To keep students, teachers and staff safe in our schools across the state, we need to see a much more rapid decline in case numbers, and we need to see it quickly.”

Courtesy photo

The extended forecast in Oregon calls for continued warm and dry conditions, resulting in the imminent threat of fire in Columbia County and over a broad area of the state.

Dangerous mix heightens fire danger JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net

The summer wildfire season is here and Columbia County fire agencies are urging everyone to be cautious of the danger. Drying conditions, the continued heat and winds are adding to an explosive mixture, according to the agencies. “Until we get substantial rain for four, five or six days, we have to be vigilant,” Columbia River Fire & Rescue interim Chief Eric Smythe

said. Outdoor burning is banned in the county and residents should avoid mowing to help prevent wildfires, Smythe said. Much of the state is now in extreme fire danger and red flag warnings are common for hot, dry, windy conditions and dry thunderstorms. On Aug. 19, Governor Kate Brown declared a State of Emergency due to the imminent threat of wildfire across Oregon. Oregon has experienced wildfires this season that have resulted in evacuations, threatened critical

infrastructure, and destroyed homes and other structures. One person was killed while fighting a wildfire on Aug. 24 in Wasco County, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The extended forecast in Oregon calls for continued warm and dry conditions, resulting in the imminent threat of fire over a broad area of the state. Oregon continues to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, which

As of Aug. 24, Columbia County has a total of 124 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the outbreak. The number includes both confirmed and presumptive cases. Within the county, one zip code, 97048, stands out as having more cases than others. The area includes Rainier, across from Longview, WA, according to Paul. Their case rate is the highest for the county, but still below the state average of 48 per 100,000 in Oregon. However, it is still high for a rural area, according to Paul. “We need to watch that zip code closely,” Paul said. Paul also said there are metrics that need to be met in order for schools to fully reopen, which are put forth by the Oregon Department of Education. There are two metrics that must be met in order to reopen schools, and that is a test positivity rate of less than 5% and a case count of less than 10 per 100,000 people. The county is still meeting one, but not the other metric, according to Paul. Per Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data, the county is under the 5% test positivity rate but within the last few weeks has had a case count varying from 15 to 28 cases per 100,000. This means that Columbia County is far off from that metric and being able to reopen schools, Paul said. There are additional indicators set by the OHA that can indicate how well a county is faring with the virus. These indicators include: percentage of emergency department visits per case, trend in positive case results, percentage of cases traced to a known source and percentage of cases that receive follow-up by public health officials within 24 hours of receiving a positive diagnosis. “Statewide numbers show we’re meeting most of those indicators,” Paul said. So far, Columbia County is well below 1.5% for emergency department visits for COVID-19, and there is a slight downward trend in positive results in the

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See FIRE Page A10

Local race car driver enjoying his laps

Two paths Oregon is considering two paths to slow the spread to levels where they can safely reopen in-person education. The first option is to call on local communities to step up efforts to greater enforce existing guidelines, such as face covering use, physical distancing, sanitation, contact tracing and compliance with isolation/quarantine. The second option would be to create further business restrictions, as well as creating travel restrictions for people entering Oregon or returning from trips outside the state. “I believe, and the data indicates, that either one of these

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See SCHOOL Page A5

Photo courtesy of Mike Weber

St. Helens race car driver Bob Berg shows off his green Neon. MIKE WEBER Chronicle Guest Article

With the unfortunate circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems rather amazing that there is some normal local cultural events taking place such as stock car races at River City Speedway in St. Helens. Despite all the challenges that people have had to endure in order

to compete on the quarter-mile clay oval track, drivers are making the best of the trying circumstances in the pandemic affected season. A few of the competitors have enjoyed tremendous success, such as Bob Berg of St. Helens, who has helped lead his Cozy Lawn Maintenance sponsored race team to three Columbia County Racing Association (CCRA) main event victories. “Everything has been going

pretty good, but with no points and without fans, it’s not really as fun as would be under normal circumstances,” said Berg, owner of Cozy Lawn Maintenance. “Having fans here makes it a more exciting atmosphere for everyone, but all the drivers are still having lots of

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See SPEEDWAY Page A10

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See PANDEMIC Page A7


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