With a national shortage of COVID-19 tests emerging, health officials are advising those without symptoms to talk with their doctor before seeking one.  Hood River County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg says the shortage locally is not drastic, but it is significant.  Van Tilburg said those with symptoms, in high-risk populations, or in close contact with someone who has had a positive COVID-19 test are prioritized to receive a test.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Mimi McDonell said earlier this week getting test results back in a timely manner was as much a problem as the availability of the tests themselves.

The Hood River County Chamber of Commerce announced that Hops Fest has been cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It had been scheduled for September 26 in downtown Hood River.  Oregon Governor Kate Brown has directed events and gatherings larger than 100 people be cancelled through September.  The Hood River Hops Fest has been an annual event since 2003.  Chamber Executive Director Kate Schroeder said they look forward to holding the event in 2021.

Hood River County reports it currently has 25 active COVID-19 cases as of Thursday morning.  The County is now at a total of 142 cases for the pandemic, and 117 have been released from isolation.  Hood River County Health Department Director Trish Elliott added that there are no known COVID-19 hospitalizations at this time.  Wasco County remained at a total of 138 positive or presumed COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, according to numbers released by the North Central Public Health District on Thursday afternoon.  Sherman County remains at eight total cases.  Statewide, the Oregon Health Authority on Thursday reported an additional 331 positive cases, moving the pandemic total to 15,713.  The OHA also reported a pair of deaths, moving that number to 273.  In Washington, Skamania County Wednesday added one cases to move its total to 44.  Klickitat County is at 92 with two additions reported on Wednesday, according to County numbers both in the Goldendale area.

The Hood River County Health Department is doing testing at two long-term care facilities where there have been positive COVID-19 tests.  Department Director Trish Elliott says they recently had two cases in one facility and one in another.  She says in the first facility they are in the second week of testing all residents and staff once a week for two weeks, and if they get another positive they will another two week round of testing.  At the other there is baseline testing being done with a second week of testing planned.  Elliott says that is the procedure outline by the Oregon Health Authority, as the facilities are prioritized because of the vulnerability of their residents to the disease.  Elliott did not identify the facilities involved, as the OHA does not require that unless the number of cases reaches five or more, but she added families of those involved have been notified.  She also said as of this morning there have been no hospitalizations resulting from the cases at the long-term care facilities.

The Big River Community Land Trust is entering into a fundraising effort to move toward purchasing land to develop affordable housing for median-income earners in Hood River and Klickitat County.  The trust’s board chair, Anne Medenbach, says the housing issues in the region is not changing during the pandemic.  They are looking for land via purchase or donation.  Medenbach says they have a goal of acquiring land this year to begin construction next year.  Their concept is to build homes and sell them to qualifying buyers while retaining ownership of the property and limiting how much the homes can be resold for.  Their website is bigriverclt.org.

An interagency management team said the Bertschi Road Fire south of Glenwood is now 85% contained.   A significant demobilization of resources assigned to the fire is planned for Thursday, with transfer of command to a Type 4 management team set for Friday afternoon.  Officials say mop up and gridding of the 250-acre fire is going well.  The fire burned in heavy logging slash, timber, and short grass.  It started a week ago, and the cause remains under investigation.

The Oregon School Activities Association Executive Board has delayed the opening contest date for fall sports by a month to September 23, and says it will meet again the week of August 3 when they anticipate having additional information on school reopening plans and further guidance from the state.  In a letter to high school athletic directors and principals and school district superintendents, OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber said the original first Fall practice date of August 17 remains in place to allow for local school control in making practice decisions.  He added new guidance from the state requiring face coverings even when exercising indoors will require further consideration regarding guidance for indoor activities.  Weber added if fall activities aren’t able to be held in the Fall, the OSAA Executive Board is committed to working with its contingency groups to exhaust all options including shifting, condensing, or stacking seasons, much like what is being done in Washington, with the fundamental objective of providing participation opportunities for students.

Businesses across Oregon will face tighter restrictions starting Friday under the latest guidelines issued by Governor Kate Brown to stop the spread of COVID-19.  Indoor venues such as restaurants, bars, gyms and houses of worship must limit occupancy to 100 people, down from 250, and restaurants and bars will have to close by 10 p.m. instead of midnight.  The governor also announced that children ages 5 and older must wear masks in public starting Friday, and that a watch list of counties seeing what state officials consider as worrisome levels of COVID-19 spread will be updated soon.  Brown acknowledged in a press conference that some people will think these measures are not enough, and others will think they are too much.  Brown did say the state is starting to allow outdoor visits to residents of long-term care facilities where there is no evidence of the virus.

Oregon State Epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger says the over 2400 COVID-19 cases diagnosed last week was up 26 percent from the previous week.  Sidelinger said hospitalizations are on the rise, but not as quickly as new infections in part because the state is seeing more cases in younger people who are healthier and have milder symptoms.  He also said hospital treatments continue to improve, and the state currently has an adequate number of intensive care unit beds and ventilators, but added a cautionary note that if left unchecked COVID-19 case increases could overwhelm Oregon’s health care system.  Sidelinger says large outbreaks in workplaces and long-term care facilities are accounting for a diminishing proportion of cases, and the state has more resources to assist with isolation and quarantine.  But sporadic cases are growing, accounting for nearly half of the cases in the last week, and that means there is community spread.

Wasco County is now at a total of 137 positive or presumed COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.  That’s according to numbers released by the North Central Public Health District on Wednesday afternoon, up six from the day before.  The Oregon Health Authority moved Hood River County up by four cases to 139, while Sherman County remains at eight total cases.  North Central Public Health District Health Officer Mimi McDonell told the Wasco Commission that Wasco County’s epidemiological curve has slowed a bit.  She also said getting test results back remains a major problem, as it in other parts of the country, adding when it takes 10 days to get a result it can defeat the purpose of the test.  In Washington, Skamania County Tuesday added three cases to move its total to 43, and reported a death from COVID-19 for the first time.  Klickitat County is at 90 with one addition reported on Tuesday.