The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, November 12, 2020, Image 21

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The daily Astorian., November 12, 2020, Page 21, Image 21

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Newspaper Page TextA5 THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 Oregon health ofﬁ cials warn about nearing hospital capacity OBITUARIES Frances Maxine (Potter) Dietrichs-Miller Astoria Feb. 23, 1921 — Nov. 3, 2020 By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon health ofﬁ cials warned Tuesday of the capac- ity challenges facing hospitals as COVID-19 case counts continue to spike in the state. The Oregon Health Authority recorded a record 285 conﬁ rmed COVID-19 patients in hospitals Tuesday — a 57% increase in just the past week and an 83% increase in the past four weeks. “There are limitations to what Oregon’s health care system can handle,” said Dana Hargunani, the health authority’s chief medi- cal ofﬁ cer. “Even with regional planning and the hard work of all of our hospital partners, we cannot handle ever growing high daily case counts and widespread hospitalizations.” Out of Oregon’s 703 listed intensive care unit beds, 27% are available and about 18% of non-ICU adult hospital beds in the state are available, based on data on from the health authority’s website. The previous record for hospitalizations in the state, outside of November, was 179 in October. Prior to the end of October, the record of COVID-19 related hospitalizations was 165 in July. In Portland-area hospitals, COVID-19 hos- pitalizations have increased by 57% in the last week. Other areas, such as Jackson and Jose- phine counties, have increased even more — 162%. “Our fear that this virus would spread out of control as the colder months set in is now becoming a frightening reality,” Brown said. Health ofﬁ cials said that if hospitals do reach capacity, facilities could postpone elec- tive procedures, use hospital beds or wings that are now unused, add stafﬁ ng to their inpa- tient units or send patients to other hospitals, both in the state and in other states where there is availability. Some hospitals have already begun to use these tools, both during the devastating wild- ﬁ res and the increase in COVID-19 cases. Hargunani said that the plans in place leave Oregon hospitals much better prepared to han- dle high case counts than in February. However, the system is ﬂ exible and has capacity only to a certain point. “For this reason, you’ve heard from state ofﬁ cials for months that we need each individ- ual Oregonian to take steps to limit the spread of this virus,” Hargunani said. “We must keep a new surge in cases from overwhelming our system.” Ofﬁ cials’ concerns about nearing hospi- tal capacity emerged as daily cases reach an alarming rate. “This is very serious. Oregon is heading down the wrong road,” Brown said. “While we have plans in place to share beds and ven- tilators if necessary, that needs to be a last resort.” The Oregon Health Authority reported 876 new virus cases on Wednesday, bring- ing the total to 52,770 statewide. The state has reported 742 deaths from the virus. In an effort to slow the rate of transmission, Ted S. Warren/AP Photo A worker holds a tablet computer as he waits to check people at a King County coronavirus testing site in Washington state in October. Brown announced last week that nine counties will be placed on a two-week pause on social activities. The updated safety measures include halt- ing visitations to long-term care facilities, reducing the capacity of indoor dining at restaurants to 50 people, encouraging all busi- ness to mandate work from home and urging Oregonians not to gather with people who do not live in their household, but if they do to limit it to six people. These pause measures will be in effect from Wednesday through Nov. 25 for Baker, Clack- amas, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Jackson, Umatilla, Union and Washington counties. The U.S., meanwhile, hit a record num- ber of coronavirus hospitalizations Tuesday and surpassed 1 million new conﬁ rmed cases in just the ﬁ rst 10 days of November amid a nationwide surge of infections that shows no signs of slowing. The new wave appears bigger and more widespread than the surges that happened in the spring and summer — and threatens to be worse. But experts say there are also reasons to think the nation is better able to deal with the virus this time around. “We’re deﬁ nitely in a better place” when it comes to improved medical tools and knowl- edge, said William Hanage, a Harvard Univer- sity infectious-disease researcher. Newly conﬁ rmed infections in the U.S. were running at all-time highs of well over 100,000 per day, pushing the total to more than 10 million and eclipsing 1 million since Halloween. There are now 61,964 people hos- pitalized, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Several states posted records Tuesday, including over 12,600 new cases in Illinois, 10,800 in Texas and 7,000 in Wisconsin. Deaths — a lagging indicator, since it takes time for people to get sick and die — are climbing again, reaching an average of more than 930 a day. Hospitals are getting slammed. And unlike the earlier outbreaks, this one is not conﬁ ned to a region or two. “The virus is spreading in a largely uncon- trolled fashion across the vast majority of the country,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infec- tious-disease expert at Vanderbilt University. Associated Press writer Mike Strobbe con- tributed to this report. Born in Astoria, Oregon, to Frank and school and city functions. She also enjoyed Charlotte (Lottie) Potter, Frances Diet- gardening, quilting, sewing, crocheting, richs-Miller attended Astoria schools and traveling and being with her family, tak- ing part in their activities and graduated from Astoria High accomplishments. School in May 1939. Besides her husband, she is She attended Astoria Busi- survived by her children, Jay ness College, then worked as a Dietrichs and his partner, Matt secretary at the Paciﬁ c Power Gage, of Portland, Oregon; Janet & Light p ower plant for sev- and son-in-law, Ted Owens, of eral years before marrying Wal- Redmond, Oregon; Celia and ter Dietrichs, who was serving in son-in-law, Brian Rummell, of the U.S. Army at Fort Stevens, in Astoria; and Alan “Fred” Diet- August 1944. richs, of Astoria. They raised a family of four Grandchildren are Chris Darr children. Walter died in Octo- Frances Dietrichs- Miller and his wife, Rachel, of Portland; ber 1992. In May 1995, Frances Taryn Darr, of Seattle, Washing- married Dr. Rodney Miller, of ton; Jacob Rummell and his wife, Katie, of Astoria. Frances also worked as secretary at the Astoria; Jennie Rummell, of Dallas, Ore- First Presbyterian Church, Union Fisher- gon; Jared Rummell, of Bend, Oregon; and men’s Cooperative and the Astoria Phy- Miranda Dietrichs; of Astoria. Great-grand- sicians Clinic, from which she retired in daughter is Abigael Darr, of Portland. The family extends its gratitude to all the 1983. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church since 1934, sing- dedicated caregivers and hospice for their ing in the choir for over 30 years and play- wonderful care and support for Frances over these past several years. ing in the handbell choir. A memorial service will be held next Other activities included being a mem- ber of the Alpha Iota b usiness c ollege year. Donations may be made to the Clatsop s orority, and a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and at the Flavel House Emergency Food Bank Pantry at the First Museum. Additionally, she volunteered at Presbyterian Church in Astoria, or a charity the First Presbyterian Church food bank for of your choice. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary is many years. Her interests included playing the vio- in charge of the arrangements. An online lin for many years in symphony orchestras, guest book is available at caldwellsmortu- a string ensemble and for many church, ary.com SPORTS Poyer pick helps Bills beat ‘Hawks The Astorian Buﬀ alobills.com Jordan Poyer intercepts a fourth down pass in the end zone early in Sunday’s win over Seattle. CLATSOP POWER States cite smooth election, despite Trump’s baseless claims By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY, ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press ATLANTA — The 2020 election unfolded smoothly across the country and without any widespread irregularities, according to state ofﬁ cials and election experts, a stark contrast to the baseless claims of fraud being leveled by President Donald Trump following his defeat. Election experts said the large increase in advance voting — 107 million people voting early in person and by mail — helped take pressure off Election Day operations. There were also no incidents of violence at the polls or voter intimidation. EQUIPMENT , INC. “The 2020 general election was one of the smoothest and most well-run elections that we have ever seen, and that is remark- able considering all the challenges,” said Ben Hovland, a Democrat appointed by Trump to serve on the Election Assistance Commission, which works closely with ofﬁ cials on election administration. Following Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, Trump has sought to discredit the integrity of the election and argued without evidence that the results will be overturned. Republi- can lawmakers have said the president should be allowed to launch legal challenges, though many of those lawsuits have already been turned away by judges and those that remain do not include evidence of problems that would change the outcome of the race. SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Jordan Poyer and the Buffalo Bills posted their seventh win of the season Sun- day, 44-34 over the Seattle Seahawks. Poyer had his ﬁ rst interception of the season in the win, intercepting a Russell Wilson pass in the end zone to halt an early Seattle drive. Buffalo improved to 7-2, ﬁ rst place in the AFC East division, while the Seahawks slipped to 6-2. Meanwhile, Poyer is having one of his best seasons, as he now leads the Bills in both total tackles (79) and solo tackles (60). Earlier this season, Pro Football Focus rated the 2009 graduate of Astoria High School as the second best safety in the league. Buffalo plays next Sunday at Arizona. SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS 34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA 503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792 TUESDAY WEDNESDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 50 44 52 44 51 41 Cloudy, Winds becoming Rain; winds afternoon rain strong subsiding 51 44 56 43 52 40 51 40 Showers possible Showers possible Cloudy, rain possible Showers possible Aberdeen Olympia 47/44 48/43 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 48/40 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Tuesday Tonight’s Sky: Andromeda Galaxy is due south at altitude of 85 degrees. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 51/37 Normal high/low .................. 55/41 Record high .................. 69 in 1907 Record low .................... 29 in 2012 Precipitation Tuesday ................................... 0.19” Month to date ........................ 2.39” Normal month to date ......... 3.27” Year to date .......................... 48.78” Normal year to date ........... 49.74” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Time 10:34 a.m. 8.5 4:22 a.m. 11:07 p.m. 7.5 5:08 p.m. Cape Disappointment 10:09 a.m. 8.5 3:31 a.m. 10:44 p.m. 7.3 4:21 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 7:13 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 4:46 p.m. Moonrise today .............. 3:40 a.m. Moonset today .............. 3:49 p.m. New First Full Last 10:21 a.m. 8.9 3:53 a.m. 10:53 p.m. 7.8 4:40 p.m. Warrenton 10:29 a.m. 8.9 4:06 a.m. 11:02 p.m. 7.9 4:52 p.m. Knappa 11:11 a.m. 8.8 5:23 a.m. 11:44 p.m. 7.8 6:09 p.m. Depoe Bay Nov 14 Nov 21 Nov 30 Dec 7 9:24 a.m. 9:57 p.m. 8.8 2:59 a.m. 7.6 3:51 p.m. 0.8 0.3 0.9 0.4 0.8 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.9 0.4 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Today Hi/Lo/W Fri. Hi/Lo/W 78/58/sh 63/46/r 55/31/s 79/54/pc 45/26/s 85/74/s 83/59/s 68/48/pc 84/77/sh 62/48/r 74/48/s 58/48/pc 66/51/r 74/54/s 52/41/sh 42/29/s 71/60/s 56/34/pc 85/74/pc 80/61/s 67/49/pc 86/77/pc 57/44/c 74/49/pc 61/52/c 65/43/pc Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow ﬂ urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 39/34 Hermiston The Dalles 46/41 Enterprise Pendleton 36/29 46/39 45/37 La Grande 37/32 48/43 NATIONAL CITIES High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 35/33 Kennewick Walla Walla 45/38 Lewiston 45/38 47/43 Salem Pullman 42/26 Longview 50/44 Portland 47/44 37/32 Yakima 42/34 47/40 Astoria Spokane 37/30 Corvallis 47/41 Albany 47/43 John Day Eugene Bend 49/42 45/35 43/35 Ontario 42/32 Caldwell Burns 40/26 44/31 Medford 50/41 Klamath Falls 43/32 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 37/24/c 50/45/r 50/46/r 46/43/r 49/45/r Fri. Hi/Lo/W 43/33/r 53/46/r 52/45/r 52/43/r 52/44/r City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springﬁ eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 53/46/r 50/42/r 51/45/r 50/44/r 47/44/r Fri. Hi/Lo/W 57/46/r 53/44/r 52/44/r 52/43/r 52/44/r