Wasco County reported two new COVID-19 cases in numbers released on Saturday, the only ones reported in the Mid-Columbia region. Wasco County is now up to ten positive COVID-19 tests.  Hood River and Skamania counties each reported one new COVID-19 case Friday.  Health officials say Hood River County’s fourth person to test positive is an employee of Parkhurst Place Assisted Living.  All staff and residents in contact with that person have been notified and are undergoing testing.  County officials also confirmed all four cases identified have displayed what are considered to be mild symptoms of the virus and there have been no hospitalizations.  According to a statement from Skamania County emergency officials, two of the three positive tested people in that countyr are currently hospitalized with the virus, and were from the same residence in the Carson area.  Klickitat County’s numbers as of Saturday afternooon remained at 12 reported cases of COVID-19, while Sherman County has one and Gilliam County zero. 

Local health care providers at Mid-Columbia Medical Center and One Community Health report they have expanded their capacity for testing symptomatic residents for infection with COVID-19.  Individuals must still contact their primary care provider for evaluation and possible referral for testing.  Those without primary care providers may call the clinics directly for evaluation and possible referral.

A woman was taken into custody Friday morning after a pursuit in Skamania County that ended with her vehicle crashing just east of the Bridge of the Gods entry on the Oregon side of the Columbia River  According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy just coming on duty near eastbound milepost 12 in Clark County was passed by a car traveling at an estimated 110 miles per hour.  The vehicle became airbone at a pair of roundabouts, and the deputy terminated the pursuit at milepost 21 because the driver was using both lanes of travel, and then observed the car nearly stopped at Cape Horn, but it accelerated again and clothing that had been lit on fire was being thrown out the window.  Attempts by other deputies to stop the vehicle were unsuccessful, but a short time later the car was reported as crashing on the Oregon side of the river at the Bridge of the Gods.  As the car caught fire the woman fled.  42-year-old Amie Maderos was later located and arrested in Washougal and lodged in the Skamania County Jail on felony eluding and several misdemeanor driving charges.

The Bridge of the Gods will be closed overnights Mondays through Thursdays from April 13 to May 12 for repair work.  The Port of Cascade Locks says the bridge will be closed from 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. on those nights to allow for bridge truss repairs needed after an overhead strike by a truck.  The bridge will remain open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights throughout the project.  Emergency response personnel will be allowed to access the bridge.  Updates on the project and closure schedule will be available at portofcascadelocks.org.

Two people are in custody following a shooting Thursday night in the area of West 10th and Perkins in The Dalles.  The Dalles Police Chief Pat Ashmore said their investigation is continuing, but confirmed that two suspects are in custody and no one suffered life threatening injuries.  Police dispatch logs indicate it was a drive-by shooting, which Ashmore confirmed.  The logs also showed the shooting occurred around 8:50 p.m. on Thursday.  Ashmore indicated more information will be released by police and the Wasco County District Attorney’s office at a later time.

The Oregon State Police is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying a person who illegally entered a wildlife area in the southern part of Wasco County in late March.  According to the OSP, cameras on March 21 observed two people approaching the closed White River Wildlife Area near Tygh Valley.  Photos show one man and one woman approach the closed area and then the male, armed with a rifle, crosses over the fence and into the wildlife area.  The wildlife area is managed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and at the time was closed to all entry.   Anyone with information on this are asked to contact the Oregon State Police Command Center at 1-800-442-0776, *OSP, or the Oregon State Police Area Command in The Dalles and leave information for Senior Trooper Justin Frazier.

North Wasco County School District 21 Superintendent Candy Armstrong says while Governor Kate Brown’s decision to close in-person classes for the rest of the school year wasn’t what anyone hoped for, it does give certainty moving forward.  In a letter to D-21 families, staff, and community members, Armstrong said the district has been preparing to the make the best of the situation.  She said the “Distance Learning for All” effort carries significant challenges, and remote learning cannot replicate the traditional school day.  Armstrong says district staff is working on learning options to support families, and information on them will be coming to students from D-21 principals and teachers.   She said families with questions can call their student’s school.  Contact information is available at nwasco.k12.or.us.  In a statement on its website, the Hood River County School District said it will move forward with beginning distance learning as planned, and parents will continue to receive updated information from their school.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles has been working on surge planning in recent weeks in case they get a rush of COVID-19 cases.  MCMC incident commander Don Wenzler says their newly opened immediate care facility at Water’s Edge gives them another location to see patients with non-COVID-like urgent conditions while keeping COVID patients in the hospital’s emergency department.  He says they have a number of waivers from the state to use areas in the MCMC building as overflow for patients if necessary.  Wenzler also points out they have tents near their main facility that are not currently in use, but they’ve done drills to be ready to screen people as they enter the building.  Wenzler says MCMC has looked at a couple of off-campus sites for alternative care options in preparation for a surge they hope never happens.

Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital says it is operating in a “green” status, which means they haven’t seen a surge of patients, and the total census for the hospital and emergency room traffic is down with no elective surgeries taking place.  Providence spokesperson Susan Frost says their auxiliary field tent remains up, and they did a simulation earlier this week to run through everything they might deal with in a surge situation, and identified changes to make.  Frost says the hospital is working on plans to deal with the backlog of cases they will have once the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Skyline Hospital in White Salmon has implemented virtual visits and continue to be prepared should a surge of COVID-19 cases come its way.  Skyline’s Jenna Newcomb says they are in a similar state of readiness as other regional hospitals, collaborating with them and Portland-area hospitals.  She notes their current data does not have them anticipating a bed or ventilator shortage.  Newcomb says emergency room traffic at Skyline is significantly down, which means people are heeding social distancing advisories.  She adds if someone needs to be seen in person with an emergency, the hospital will see them and it is safe as they screen people entering the building and utilizing negative pressure rooms, which pull circulating air out of the room to keep the patient safe and allows isolation of respiratory patients.