TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020
LOCAL & STATE
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
‘We really need help’: Coronavirus in rural Oregon
maternal-child section turned fi eld teams to serve at-risk
To confront the surge in
into contact tracing and
residents and distribute
cases, rural governments are
SALEM — Heather Griggs
investigating. She spends her federal aid to poor families,
rearranging and shuffl ing
presses a phone to her ear in
days asking people with posi- he said.
responsibilities for workers
a makeshift offi ce in the small
tive test results about those
The fact that many rural
already juggling multiple
brick courthouse that once
they interacted with and then jobs cannot be done from
roles.
served as a jail in rural Pend-
calling to warn those people. home has exacerbated the
Lt. Melissa Ross updates
leton, a place best known for
“We are a small county, so virus’s impact, Murdock said. journalists about drug busts
its annual rodeo.
I don’t think there is a single Offi cials have noted cases
and fatal crashes as the
Her assured tone masks
person here at public health where people continued to
public information offi cer for
her exhaustion when she tells
who hasn’t been involved
work despite having minor the Morrow County sheriff
the person on the other end
in some way,” said Griggs,
coronavirus symptoms,
in eastern Oregon. She also
that they may have been ex-
who works with eight other
which led to outbreaks.
oversees the records and
posed to COVID-19. It’s a call
contact tracers.
“They are forced to go to
civil department. Adding
she has made thousands of
Offi cials recognize that
work in order to survive.
to her duties, she’s now
times since March, but lately
rural case numbers are low
They don’t have benefi ts.
the spokeswoman for the
Ben Lonergan / East Oregonian compared with city totals,
there has been a heightened
You can’t telecommute on a county’s Emergency Man-
Heather Griggs, a registered nurse, helps run the Uma-
sense of urgency.
but even a slight increase can production line,” he said.
agement Team, which gives
tilla County Public Health Department contact tracing
The coronavirus has torn
push a small community over
Of Oregon’s 23 rural coun- updates on case numbers
center out of a converted jail in Pendleton.
through the small Oregon
the edge.
ties, 12 have reported work- and other virus-related
community where farmers
“We’ve discovered we are
place outbreaks at farms or information.
grow crops such as potatoes, through major U.S. cities is
quarters, have proven to be
getting really overwhelmed
meat and seafood processing
“That’s what happens
onions and grains. In Uma-
now wreaking havoc on rural hot spots.
by the rapid numbers in the plants. Umatilla County
when you live in small rural
tilla County, where Pendleton communities, with some re-
Umatilla County has
rise we are seeing now,” Uma- has reported six workplace America I guess,” Ross said.
is located, the rate of people
cording the nation’s most new Oregon’s highest number
tilla County Commissioner
outbreaks since mid-June.
Lake County, where
testing positive for COVID-19 confi rmed cases per capita in of confi rmed infections per
George Murdock said. “We
For most people, the new southern Oregon meets
is about 16%. That’s a mea-
the past two weeks. The virus capita, sometimes reporting
really need help.”
coronavirus causes mild or
California and Nevada, has
sure of how widespread the
is infecting thousands of often a fi gure this month above
The county has received
moderate symptoms, such as just one hospital. The next
disease is in the community, impoverished rural residents that of Multnomah County,
guidance, contact tracers, case fever and cough that clear
one is 90 miles away.
and the World Health Organi- every day, swamping strug-
which is 10 times larger
investigators and equipment up in two to three weeks.
To serve its 7,000 resi-
zation recommends it stay
gling health care systems
and includes Portland. The
from the state, but Murdock For some — especially older dents, the county took the
below 5%.
and piling responsibility on
surge in Umatilla and most
says more help might be nec- adults and people with ex-
unusual step of asking the
In the county with a popu- government workers who
of Oregon’s rural counties
essary. Offi cials need housing isting health problems — it Lake Health District to not
lation of 77,000, the virus has often perform multiple jobs
is driving the state’s rise in
alternatives for people who
can cause more severe ill-
only run the hospital but also
infected more than a thou-
they never signed up for.
confi rmed cases.
have COVID-19 or are living ness, including pneumonia, oversee its health department
sand people and killed nine,
Offi cials attribute much of
In response to the pandem- with multiple families and
and death.
during the pandemic.
overwhelming its limited
the spread in rural America
ic, Umatilla County divided
resources and employees.
to outbreaks in workplaces,
virus-related tasks among
be cautious when traveling outside the
“I’m tired,” said Griggs,
living facilities and social
the 30-person public health
county, in particular to places with recent
who’s working as a contact
gatherings. Food processing
department.
Continued from Page 1A
outbreaks.
tracer.
plants and farms, where peo-
For Griggs, that meant her
The cases were the fi rst since July 14, the
Bennett said some of the Baker County
The pandemic sweeping
ple typically work in cramped role supervising the agency’s
day before the Oregon Health Authority
residents were infected outside the county.
added Baker County to eight other counties He didn’t say how many were in that cat-
as the federal agents started taking action
on a “watch list” due to sporadic cases —
egory, but that the list doesn’t include the
on the streets of Portland.
ones not directly tied to an outbreak.
fi ve U.S. Forest Service employees who are
Continued from Page 3A
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,”
Mark Bennett, the county commissioner among the county’s 15 cases.
The violence happened as local and
Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler said
acting as incident commander for the
“A lot of it is just being prudent and exer-
state leaders expressed anger with the
federal offi cers “are not wanted here. We
county during the pandemic, said Monday cising good judgment,” Bennett said.
presence of the federal agents, saying that haven’t asked them here. In fact, we want
afternoon that no one is hospitalized in the
He encouraged residents, whether they
the city’s protests had started to ease just them to leave.”
county due to COVID-19.
travel outside the county or not, to continue
Bennett said contact tracers from the
to practice social distancing and to wear
county Health Department are investigat- face coverings when they can’t stay at least
ing the two new cases.
6 feet from others when in social settings or
Baker County starting Wednesday afternoon
Bennett also urged county residents to
while visiting local businesses.
and continuing through Thursday afternoon
Continued from Page 1A
for lightning. Although initial storms could
The possibility of storms is important
be dry — which increases the risk of light-
because lightning sparks a majority of wild- ning sparking fi res — storms that linger into
fi res on public lands in the region.
Thursday have a better chance of delivering
“That’s one of our bigger concerns,” said
rain, according to the Weather Service.
Noel Livingston, fi re staff offi cer for the
Livingston said the fi re season so far has
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
been about average — typically the highest
Fire danger now is moderate on the
risk for major fi res in the region runs from
Wallowa-Whitman.
late July through August and, occasionally,
A computer model that estimates how
continuing into September.
much energy a fi re would release — a key
This year so far is quite different from sev-
indicator of the fi re danger — has been
eral recent summers, including 2018, when
near or below average since June 1 but as of June was warmer and drier than average,
Monday was rising to near average in parts the fi re danger index set record highs in late
of the forest, Livingston said.
July, ranging from 79 to 84. By comparison,
“It’s starting to dry up,” Livingston said.
the readings for Sunday ranged from 47 to
Widespread rain during the latter half of
61.
May and the fi rst half of June pushed the fi re
One advantage to the fi re danger remain-
danger below average.
ing below average well into July is that fi re-
But with little rain falling in the past
fi ghting crews, aircraft and other resources
month — just 0.03 of an inch since June 16 at are comparatively plentiful, Livingston said.
the Baker City Airport, barely enough to lay
The largest local fi re, which burned 6
515 Campbell Street Baker City
the dust — the potential for a fi re to spread
acres on July 15 near California Gulch,
quickly has increased steadily, Livingston
about 14 miles southwest of Baker City,
541-523-4318
said.
was quickly controlled by fi re crews on the
Meanwhile the temperature at the Baker ground and with aerial assistance from two
City Airport reached 80 or higher on all but single-engine tankers and one helicopter.
two of the fi rst 20 days of July. The National
The fi re, which started near Highway
Weather Service is predicting highs in the
7, was human-caused, and Forest Service
90s today and Wednesday.
offi cials are investigating, said Travis Mason-
The Weather Service on Monday issued
Bushman, a public information offi cer for the
a fi re weather watch that includes most of
Wallowa-Whitman.
By Sara Cline
Associated Press/Report for America
COVID-19
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