Hood River County had two more positive or presumed COVID-19 cases added to its totals by the Oregon Health Authority on Monday, and Wasco County had one.  That moved Hood River County’s pandemic total to 132, and Wasco County to 131.  Over the weekend Hood River County said 107 of its cases have been released from isolation.  Sherman County remained at eight total cases.  Statewide the OHA on Monday added 277 new confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 cases, and reported two deaths to run the toll to 262.  In Washington, Skamania County Monday said it was at 40 total COVID-19 cases.  Klickitat County is at 85, with 78 listed as recovered.

After taking a number of steps to reduce crowding at the Waterfront Event Site this weekend, Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee said they only had to close the Event Site parking lot one time on Sunday, but other Port locations on the waterfront experienced crowding.  McElwee says the Sandbar, Hook, Spit, Frog Beach, and the swim beach all experienced crowding over the weekend, and the Port will be evaluating to determine other steps they can take next weekend. He did say closures of some locations was an option.  McElwee noted it would be difficult to close Frog Beach, as it is accessible via a public street.  He said the Port hasn’t seen similar problems on weekdays.  McElwee added Port commissioners will be consulted in any decisions they make.

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce says it still has a large quantity of KN-95 masks available for businesses.  Chamber CEO Lisa Farquharson says Wasco County Emergency Management donated the masks to give out to businesses, and there is still a large quantity available.  For information on the masks, call The Dalles Chamber at 541-296-2231.

As a flurry of numbers on COVID-19 come out from various governmental agencies each day, it’s easy to get confused about what is important and what isn’t.  Hood River County Health Department Health Officer Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg suggests positive test rates are the most accurate indicator of the pandemic within a community.  Van Tilburg says Hood River County has stayed at a positive test rate of about 3.5% for some time, and that shows it’s still in the community, and we need to continue to need to follow coronavirus precautions.  A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the effectiveness of wearing a face covering to prevent COVID-19 transmission.  It said that among 139 clients in Springfield, Missouri exposed to two symptomatic hair stylists with confirmed COVID-19 while both the stylists and the clients wore face masks, no symptomatic secondary cases were reported, and among 67 clients tested for COVID-19, all test results were negative.  The report says adherence to the face-covering policy likely mitigated spread of the disease.  

An Interagency Management Team has put containment of the Bertschi Road Fire south of Glenwood at about 70% contained.  A control line, consisting of dozer line, hand line, and a system of forest roads, completely encircles the fire, and crews are working to suppress all hot spots within the fire.  Crews Monday were involved in mop-up work.  The fire has burned through heavy logging debris, leaving pockets of unburned dead and dying trees, and unburned needles scattered throughout, which could lead to reburn potential.  The fire started on Thursday and its cause remains under investigation.  A Temporary Flight Restriction remains in place over the fire.  Drone flights are illegal in the fire area and compromise firefighting work.

In a letter to parents, North Wasco County School District 21 Interim Superintendent Theresa Peters says that at this point the district is looking at a hybrid model combining distance learning and in-person instruction to begin the upcoming school year as the COVID-19 crisis continues on.  Peters wrote that each building administrator has formed a team to assist in the planning efforts, and each school has a blueprint that is currently in draft form as they await guidance from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority.  She anticipates sharing those plans with staff, parents, the North Central Public Health District, and the D-21 board in late July or early August.  Peters also wrote that it will be important to plan for multiple possibilities.

The Oregon Health Authority’s latest COVID-19 case numbers on Sunday put both Wasco and Hood River counties at 130 apiece.  The OHA’s Sunday numbers added six to Hood River County’s totals, and one to Wasco County.  Over the weekend the Hood River County Health Department said 107 of its cases have been released from isolation.  Sherman County remained at eight total COVID-19 cases for the pandemic.  Klickitat County reported 85 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, with 78 listed as recovered.  The Washington State Department of Health put Skamania County at 40 as of its latest update at the end of Friday.

The Hood River County Health Department reports COVID-19 cases have been identified among members of the Hood River Valley High School Boys’ Basketball and Football teams.  In a statement over the weekend, the Health Department says in cooperation with the Hood River County School District it confirmed that more than one positive-case participated in off-season workouts for the two teams last Monday, and said the number of identified cases may expand.  The Health Department says the Hood River County School District is following Center for Disease Control, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Education, and County Health Department processes and guidance.  The department also said at this point no other details will be released to protect confidentiality.  The Hood River County Health Department is proceeding with an investigation and contact-tracing of the outbreak, noting only close contacts of positive cases will be contacted.  The Hood River County School District is also reaching out to affected individuals.

Discharge from The Dalles Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Columbia River returned to compliance within permitted limits for E. coli on Sunday morning.   According to The Dalles Public Works Department, the average of five samples taken throughout Saturday at the City discharge point to the river were within limits.  A 24-hour incubation time is required for test results to be finalized.  Recent Columbia River samples show that E. coli levels at the sample locations were well below bacterial criteria set by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for freshwater recreation.  Signs which were placed at locations of public river access on the Oregon shore of the Columbia River to warn of contaminated water were taken down on Sunday.

Like most school districts this Summer, the White Salmon School District is consumed with plans for schools this Fall in the age of Caronavirus. Superintendent Jerry Lewis says they learned a lot with the last three months of the previous school year, and discovered what they need to improve. They have to look at different options, from a balance between in-school learning and online, or even entirely online. The District has just begun a survey to get input from the community, because everyone needs to be on board for things to work. Washington State law requires districts to submit a plan to the state 2 weeks before school starts and the district is planning to start August 26th. The district hasn’t heard much yet from the state concerning any money that might be available for districts. CARES Act money will start being distributed to the districts around the state. Lewis says it won’t be enough, but it helps. Those are one-time payments that must be used for COVID-related expenses. Lewis says they are getting prepared for whatever happens. The key word right now is “flexibility”.