Local health departments, hospitals, and wastewater treatment plants have launched a new website that shows the current local risk of viral respiratory illness.  The Respiratory Risk Rating website at North Central Public Health District’s website, ncphd.org, shows Columbia River Gorge residents the current combined risk for flu, COVID, and RSV.  The rating system has four levels; normal, caution, high, and very high, along with a brief summary of the trending direction of each illness. The risk levels are based on anonymous test results from local hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities.  NCPHD and Hood River County Health Department Regional Epidemiologist Marta Fisher says the goal is to clarify information so people can make informed decisions.  The rating is put together through data collected by the Columbia Gorge Wellness Partnership, which is made up of wastewater treatment facilities in Hood River and The Dalles, Adventist Health Columbia Gorge Hospital, Providence Memorial Hospital Hood River, NCPHD, HRCHD, and Gilliam County Health Department.  Local treatment plants send wastewater samples, collected at the plant, to Oregon State University for testing, local hospitals share summaries of their test results, and local health departments evaluate the data to make the rating.