Oregon reports highest count of virus cases The World
PORTLAND — Oregon had its highest one-day case count since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with 484 new cases Thursday, the Oregon Health Authority reported. COVID-19 also claimed 11 more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 594. The 484 new confirmed and presumptive cases brought the state total to 36,116. A large workplace outbreak in
Klamath County — 59 cases — contributes to the high number. The remainder of the 484 new cases reported Thursday are being investigated so it is too soon to know the sources of the increase. The recent increase in cases reported in the OHA Weekly Report Wednesday indicated that most cases continue to be traced to outbreaks in long-term care facilities, workplaces and social gatherings. The new cases are in the
following counties: Baker (1), Benton (11), Clackamas (31), Columbia (8), Coos (1), Curry (1), Deschutes (17), Douglas (9), Gilliam (1), Hood River (3), Jackson (17), Jefferson (11), Josephine (2), Klamath (44), Lane (71), Lincoln (3), Linn (20), Malheur (16), Marion (31), Morrow (5), Multnomah (82), Polk (5), Umatilla (18), Union (2), Wasco (4), Washington (58) and Yamhill (12). The one case in Coos County was the low for the week.
On Wednesday, six cases were reported in Coos County among 305 new ones statewide. Two new deaths were also reported Wednesday. On Tuesday, there were seven new cases in Coos County and 301 cases statewide, as well as nine new deaths. On Monday, there were four new cases in Coos County and 288 statewide, with no deaths. In Douglas County, there were three new cases both Tuesday and Wednesday and two on Mon-
Zack Demars Photos, The World
Choshi bridge gets fresh coat Tom Leahy, front, and Alexis Willick apply a fresh coat of red to Mingus Park's Choshi Bridge.
ZACK DEMARS The World
COOS BAY — A local landmark is looking a little fresher. A small group of volunteers from North Point Real Estate toted cans of red paint through Mingus Park On Oct. 2 and got to work on the Choshi Bridge, named for Coos Bay's sister city in Japan. For volunteer Tom Leahy, the hope is that the painting project will refresh more than just the bridge. "Hopefully it'll reinvigorate our sister city organization," Leahy said. "It's all kind of evap-
orated." That organization established the sister city relationship between Coos Bay and Choshi on Feb. 10, 1983, according to The World's archives. Leahy remembers a few decades ago, when the relationship between Coos Bay and Choshi, a fishing city and center of soy sauce production in Japan's Chiba province, was stronger. In 1993, Leahy joined a group of Coos Bay residents on an exchange tour of the city. "It was always exciting," Leahy said. That year, the group of about
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The Choshi Bridge's signature red paint was chipped before volunteers repainted it Thursday.
Coos County Democrats HQ vandalized ZACK DEMARS The World
COOS BAY — The Coos County Democratic Party headquarters was vandalized Tuesday night, police and party officials say. Party staff was in the downtown building around 9:15 p.m. when an individual taped a sign on the door and poured a putrid-smelling liquid on the ground and vent at the front of the office, according to party chair Mo Aakre. The smell came
through a vent into the building and made a staff member sick, she said. "You stink! And so do your nominees! #MAGA," the sign read in all caps, referring to President Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." A video posted on the party's Facebook page shows a single individual wearing a face covering posting the sign and taking a bottle out of a jacket pocket. Coos Bay Police have yet to identify the individual or the
substance used, according to Deputy Chief Chris Chapanar. The substance was determined not to be chemical or accelerant and smelled like sour milk, Chapanar said. The case remains open, and the activity is classified as criminal mischief in the third degree, a class C misdemeanor, Chapanar said. Party leaders thought the office's downtown location would be a safe option, since the area is well lit and well traveled, though they haven't experienced
this kind of nuisance before, Aakre said. Now, party officials are exploring protocol changes following the incident. "I want to assure my staff of their safety," Aakre said. "Our people who come into the office are positive and hard working." The air inside and around the office was still foul-smelling Wednesday morning, and Aakre said staff wouldn't be allowed to return to the space until after a restoration company comes to clean the remaining substance.
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day. Curry County did not have any new cases reported by OHA on any of those three days. Oregon’s 584th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old woman in Wasco County who tested positive on Sept. 18 and died on Oct. 6 in her residence. She had underlying conditions. Oregon’s 585th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Washington County who tested positive on Oct. 6 and died on Oct. 7 in her residence. She had
Trump, Biden debates uncertain Please see Virus, Page A8
WASHINGTON (AP) — The campaign's final debates between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden were thrown into uncertainty Thursday as the rival camps offered dueling proposals for the remaining faceoffs that have been upended by the president’s coronavirus infection. The chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates told The Associated Press that the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22, was still slated to go on with both candidates present as planned. But next Thursday's debate seemed to be gone, after the Trump team objected to the commission's format change. The whipsaw day began with an announcement from the commission that the town hall-style affair set for Oct. 15 in Miami would be held virtually. The commission cited health concerns following Trump’s infection as the reason for the change. Trump, who is eager to return to the campaign trail despite uncertainty about his health, said he wouldn’t participate if the debate wasn’t in person. Biden's campaign then suggested the event be delayed a week until Oct. 22, which is when the third and final debate was already scheduled. Next, Trump countered again, agreeing to a debate on Oct. 22 — but only if face to face — and asking that a third contest be added on Oct. 29, just before the election. But Biden's advisers rejected squaring off that late in the campaign. After the release late Thursday of a letter from Trump doctor Navy Cmdr. Sean Conley that the president had “completed his course of therapy” and could resume campaigning this weekend, the Trump campaign called on the commission to hold next week's debate in person as originally scheduled. “There is therefore no medical reason why the Commission on Presidential Debates should shift the debate to a virtual setting, postpone it, or otherwise alter it in any way,” said Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien. Please see Debate, Page A8