Both The Link and Columbia Area Transit have both adjusted their transportation services due to COVID-19.  Jessica Metta of Mid-Columbia Economic Development District says The Link is limiting their rides to only essential trips.  The Link has also reduced hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, and will not be operating on Saturdays. Columbia Area Transit has reduced service to peak hour and Dial-A-Ride service.

The Hood River City Council ratified the declaration of a State of Emergency that City Manager Rachel Fuller put in place earlier this week.  All City offices are now closed to the public, but operations continue and staff can be reached by phone, email, or online.  Public Works, Police, and Fire and EMS personnel remain on normal hours and availability while taking necessary precautions interacting with the public.  Water shut-offs and late payment fees, penalties, and interest is suspended.  Fuller told the Council it’s important they show up for those citizens that need help.  The emergency declaration is until April 14, but Fuller said that can be extended if needed.  The declaration allows the City to apply for state and federal funds to deal with the emergency as necessary.

A bi-state working group has been formed to collaboratively address issues and take necessary steps to keep the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge replacement project moving forward as the required environmental studies progress toward expected completion in late 2021.  Port of Hood River Commissioner John Everitt says there is pent up demand to begin working as a region on very important issues that will need to be addressed when the environmental studies are done.  The six-member working group has already written joint letters of support for a federal Department of Transportation grant aimed at funding engineering and design work that will follow the engineering process.  The group also signed a joint letter stating their combined interest in jointly moving forward with the bridge replacement and have engaged a financing consultant to explore and evaluate potential governance and ownership structures for the future bridge.  The Preliminary Cost Estimate for a new bridge is about $300 million, but more engineering is required to determine more accurate costs.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center says visitors will no longer be allowed in any of their facilities as the hospital continues to take steps to mitigate exposure to coronavirus.  Patients and their loved ones are encouraged to communicate by phone or video calls.  Staff members will communicate with caregivers to coordinate instructions and patient pick-up.  Minimal exceptions are in place for end of life patients, laboring mothers, pediatric patients, and trauma and critically ill emergency room patients.  Patients with respiratory symptoms like fever, cough, or shortness of breath should call their primary care provider’s office, but as a precautionary measure people with those symptoms will be seen at MCMC Family Medicine on 1620 East 12 in The Dalles.  All wellness visits are being moved to either MCMC Internal Medicine or Pediatrics.  In addition, MCMC is postponing elective procedures, surgeries, and some diagnostic imaging procedures.  Urgent and emergency surgeries and imaging will continue as needed.

The Port of Hood River Commission has approved a seven day suspension of all tolls on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge beginning at 12:01 a.m. this Friday until March 27 while Port staff works to implement safety measures to enable continued operations at the toll booth.   The Port stopped accepting cash payments in the toll booth Tuesday as a temporary emergency measure to stop person-to-person contact at the toll booth and potentially reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission in the community and to staff.   Port officials say they will consult with environmental health specialists to assess the cash-pay toll area and implement measures to mitigate risks.  BreezeBy customer accounts will not be charged for tolls during this period.  All vehicle traffic will be directed through the BreezeBy lanes at the toll plaza located on the Oregon side of the bridge.

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, work in Mid-Columbia orchards continues on.  Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers Chair Adam McCarthy says daily operations haven’t been impacted so far, noting orchardists are implementing best practices suggested by state agencies for small businesses to reduce employee contact with one another.  He says their workforce is outside all the time, and usually working independently at distances of 20 feet or greater from one another.  One concern will come later in the spring as cherry harvest approaches will be the ability to bring in labor to pick the fruit.  McCarthy said a couple of days ago applications for the federal H-1-N-A guest worker program were halted briefly, but the Secretary of Agriculture’s office stepped in to restart them, citing the need to maintain a secure and safe food supply.

The Wasco County Commission held its first “virtual meeting” via a conference call Wednesday morning.  The Commission shortened it agenda this morning to just a handful of items, most notably formally ratifying the emergency declaration for the coronavirus that led to the virtual meeting in the first place.  There was also discussion on whether the video conferencing system they used today, which has a capacity of 250 people to be in the conference at any one time, was enough for public participation.  Commission Chair Scott Hege felt that to start with it’s probably sufficient, and the other commissioners agreed.  Much of what had been on the agenda for the Wednesday meeting was pushed back to their next scheduled meeting April 1 to accommodate the first run of the video conferencing system.

Mid-Columbia Economic Development District representatives are talking with representatives from the Oregon Governor’s office to pull together a meeting with economic development and workforce partners to assess and respond to the economic issues raised by COVID-19.  MCEDD’s Jessica Metta says they have been working on responses to emergencies for some time, so much of what they do will be based off their own preparations.  Metta says resources for businesses are available at mcedd.org/ready.  She adds a similar meeting will be set up with the Washington Governor’s office.

Cycle Oregon announced Tuesday that, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the nonprofit organization is postponing its gravel riding weekend event based out of Tygh Valley May 15-17 to October 9-11.  Cycle Oregon officials say the daily routes and other details about the annual cycling event known as GRAVEL will remain the same.  Participants who have already registered for the event are automatically registered for the new weekend, and those who cannot make the new dates are being offered a full refund of registration fees and additional services and products between now and May 31.  All other Cycle Oregon rides are still scheduled as planned.

One of the issues the City of White Salmon is dealing with during the current situation is the on-going public works project on Jewett Boulevard.  Mayor Marla Keethler says they have been looking at various scenarios where work might have to be stopped on the project, most notably to protect the water main to avoid a break that could disrupt water service.  There was a water main break on the project earlier this month that disrupted service to downtown White Salmon, but it was restored within a couple of hours.