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Columbia Gorge News
Wednesday,September2,2020
11
HR Saddle Club
COVID-19
HR County, City Council,
hear COVID update Sept. 8
Hood River County Board
of Commissioners has invited
Hood River County City
Council to the Sept. 8 work
session and its report on
COVID-19 conditions.
The board meets virtually
at 4 p.m. The meeting will be
held via Webex; the link will
be available on the Board of
Commissioners webpage no
later than end of day Sept. 4.
See co.hood-river.or.us/
agenda for details.
The county board regu-
larly uses part of its meeting
on the first Monday of the
month to receive COVID-19
updates from Health
Department officials and
allow elected officials, in this
case, the board and coun-
cil, to ask questions. Health
Department Director Trisha
Elliott is scheduled to present
updated case numbers and
other pandemic information.
This will give officials from
both entities the chance to
hear from Elliot at the same
time.
Hood River and
Multnomah counties have
succeeded in reducing the
spread of COVID-19 suffi-
ciently enough to be removed
from the statewide County
Watch List, according to a
statement from Gov. Kate
Brown’s office. Hood River
County was removed from
the list last week.
“We continue to see coun-
ties working diligently to re-
duce the spread of COVID-19
in their communities — to
the point where two more
counties now come off the
Watch List. I want to applaud
county officials and commu-
nity members in Hood River
and Multnomah Counties for
their efforts in curbing com-
munity spread of COVID-19,”
said Gov. Brown.
Counties are placed on the
Watch List when COVID-19
is spreading quickly and
public health officials cannot
trace that spread to specific
sources — creating a poten-
tially dangerous dynamic.
Specific markers of this rapid
community spread include
when there is a sporadic case
rate of 50 or more per 100,000
people in the last two weeks
and the county has had more
than five sporadic cases in
the last two weeks (sporadic
cases are those that cannot
be traced to a source; they
indicate community spread).
Counties remain on the
Watch List for a minimum of
three weeks and until their
sporadic case rates drop
below these thresholds.
The County Watch List
allows the state to prioritize
resources to counties that are
seeing the broadest spread
of COVID-19, according to a
press release.
To suppress the wider
spread of COVID-19, Oregon
Health Authority urges state
residents to strictly follow
public health guidance: Wear
face coverings in public when
unable to maintain 6 feet of
distance, wash hands fre-
quently, avoid groups (espe-
cially indoors), stay home if
you’re sick, work from home
if possible, and answer the
call if you hear from a contact
tracer.
Effective Aug. 13, the
governor’s office issued a
mask requirement order for
all people in businesses with
indoor spaces or outdoor
spaces open to the public,
and for the general public
when visiting businesses and
indoor and outdoor open
spaces.
“Indoor spaces open to
the public” include indoor
spaces, whether publicly
owned or privately owned, In
addition to the public areas
of businesses defined such
spaces may include, building
lobbies or common spaces,
elevators, bathrooms, and
buildings or meeting rooms
outside of private homes
where people gather for so-
cial, civic, cultural or religious
purposes.
“Outdoor spaces open to
the public” means outdoor
spaces where at least 6 feet of
distance cannot be main-
tained between individuals in
different households."
Date Modifi ed: August 13, 2020 2:16 PM
Greta Hein of Hood River, left, talks with Susie Root at the Aug. 15 yard sale fundraiser for the Hood River Saddle Club. Organizer Helen
Hansen said the event was a success, with a steady string of people, all wearing masks and practicing social distancing, at the outdoor
event at Saddle Club, Belmont and Country Club roads. A total of $2,800 was raised, first phase of an ongoing effort to raise funds for
expanded fencing at the equestrian facility. Hein extended an offer to fellow horsewoman Root, who lives near the Mosier Creek Fire, to
provide pasture and stable space in case her horses needed a safer place.
Kirby Neumann-Rea photo
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Continued from page 1 now. The Aug. 16 week’s
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The larger schools are also
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Dufur and South Wasco
and recent percent of test
positivity. The county is doing County schools in Maupin
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well on those metrics also,
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McDonell said.
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Wasco County’s case rate
per 100,000 was 114 the week 3. St. Mary’s Academy hopes
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