A2 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021
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Deschutes County cases: 5,946 (14 new cases)
Deschutes County deaths: 59 (zero new deaths)
Jefferson County cases: 1,955 (4 new case)
Jefferson County deaths: 28 (zero new deaths)
Oregon cases: 155,315 (455 new cases)
Oregon deaths: 2,208 (2 new deaths)
GENERAL
INFORMATION
BULLETIN
GRAPHIC
129 new cases
COVID-19 data for Saturday, Feb. 27:
Crook County cases: 775 (zero new cases)
Crook County deaths: 18 (zero new deaths)
PHONE HOURS
SOURCES: OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY,
DESCHUTES COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES
New COVID-19 cases per day
130
(Dec. 4)
What is COVID-19? It’s an infection caused by a new coronavirus. Coronavi-
ruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms. Some usually
cause mild illness. Some, like this one, can cause more severe symptoms and
can be fatal. Symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
108 new cases
120
(Jan. 1)
90
new
cases
110
*No data
available on
Jan. 31
due to state
computer
maintenence
(Nov. 27)
7 ways to help limit its spread: 1. Wash hands often with soap and water for
at least 20 seconds. 2. Avoid touching your face. 3. Avoid close contact with
sick people. 4. Stay home. 5. In public, stay 6 feet from others and wear a cloth
face covering or mask. 6. Cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or cough into
your elbow. 7. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
100
90
80
70
60
47 new cases
50
(Nov. 14)
541-382-1811
7-day
average
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
28 new cases
(July 16)
ONLINE
(Oct. 31)
30
16 new cases
(Sept. 19)
9 new cases
www.bendbulletin.com
40
31 new cases
20
(May 20)
1st case
10
(March 11)
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Coronavirus relief heads to the Senate
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Biden hails House passage of $1.9T bill
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WASHINGTON — The House ap-
proved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief
bill that was championed by President
Joe Biden, the first step in providing an-
other dose of aid to a weary nation as
the measure moves to a tense Senate.
“We have no time to waste,” Biden
said at the White House after the House
passage early Saturday. “We act now —
decisively, quickly and boldly — we can
finally get ahead of this virus. We can
finally get our economy moving again.
People in this country have suffered far
too much for too long.”
The new president’s vision for in-
fusing cash across a struggling econ-
omy to individuals, businesses, schools,
states and cities battered by COVID-19
passed on a near party-line 219-212
vote. That ships the bill to the Senate,
where Democrats seem bent on resus-
citating their minimum wage push and
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
President Joe Biden removes his mask be-
fore speaking on the economy in the Roos-
evelt Room of the White House on Saturday.
fights could erupt over state aid and
other issues.
Democrats said that mass unemploy-
ment and the half-million American
lives lost are causes to act despite nearly
$4 trillion in aid already spent fighting
the fallout from the disease. GOP law-
makers, they said, were out of step with
a public that polling finds largely views
the bill favorably.
“I am a happy camper tonight,” Rep.
Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said Friday.
“This is what America needs. Republi-
cans, you ought to be a part of this. But
if you’re not, we’re going without you.”
Republicans said the bill was too ex-
pensive and said too few education dol-
lars would be spent quickly to immedi-
ately reopen schools. They said it was
laden with gifts to Democratic constit-
uencies like labor unions and funneled
money to Democratic-run states they
suggested didn’t need it because their
budgets had bounced back.
“To my colleagues who say this bill is
bold, I say it’s bloated,” said House Mi-
nority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
“To those who say it’s urgent, I say it’s
unfocused. To those who say it’s popu-
lar, I say it is entirely partisan.”
The overall relief bill would provide
$1,400 payments to individuals, extend
emergency unemployment benefits
through August and increase tax cred-
its for children and federal subsidies for
health insurance.
It also provides billions for schools
and colleges, state and local govern-
ments, COVID-19 vaccines and testing,
renters, food producers and struggling
industries like airlines, restaurants, bars
and concert venues.
Moderate Democratic Reps. Jared
Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of
Oregon were the only two lawmakers
to cross party lines. That sharp partisan
divide is making the fight a showdown
over whom voters will reward for heap-
ing more federal spending to combat
the coronavirus and revive the economy
atop the $4 trillion approved last year.
The battle is also emerging as an early
test of Biden’s ability to hold together
his party’s fragile congressional majori-
ties — just 10 votes in the House and an
evenly divided 50-50 Senate.
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La Grande man reflects on service trip to Rwanda
BY DICK MASON
The Observer (La Grande)
Rwanda is a medical paradox.
The east African nation of
13.1 million has one of the
lowest COVID-19 death rates
in the world, yet the availability
of basic medical equipment is
limited.
Lou Gerber, of La Grande,
understands this well. The
retired Oregon National
Guardsman, who served as
a medic in Iraq in 2003 and
2004, returned after a two-
week trip in December to
Rwanda with his son Matt,
who grew up in La Grande but
now lives in Texas.
Lou Gerber gained a first-
hand glimpse of Rwanda’s
medical system while teaching
a CPR and first aid class to 38
first responders and providing
them with donated medical
supplies. Gerber was jolted to
find many medical profession-
als in Rwanda have no stetho-
scopes, blood pressure cuffs or
pulse oximeters, which mea-
sure blood oxygen levels.
“Nurses did not have these,”
Gerber said. “It was very sur-
prising.”
On the other end of the
medical spectrum, Gerber said
Rwanda’s government is dili-
gent in its efforts to limit the
spread of COVID-19.
“It is very meticulous about
protecting the population,”
Gerber said.
Gerber’s son agreed, ex-
plaining that people must wear
masks at almost all times, even
Lou Gerber
teaches a CPR
and first-aid class
in December at
Nibakure Com-
munity Village in
Rwanda. Gerber
served as a com-
bat medic in Iraq
with the National
Guard in 2003
and 2004.
Matt Gerber/
Contributed photo/La
Grande Observer
when in vehicles.
“You will get pulled over
if everyone is not wearing a
mask,” Matt Gerber said.
Rwandans are screened for
COVID-19 many times a day.
“Every time you walk into a
bank, a grocery store or a ho-
tel your temperature is taken,”
Matt Gerber said.
There also are many ran-
dom checks. Lou Gerber noted
he once saw people in a car
stopped at a red light having
their temperatures checked.
People entering Rwanda also
face intense screening.
“We had to be tested in the
United States five days before
we left (for Rwanda) and after
we arrived we were quaran-
tined for 24 hours,” Matt Ger-
ber said.
This diligence is likely why
Rwanda has been ranked first
in Africa and sixth globally
in managing the COVID-19
pandemic, according to a 2021
story in Africannews.com,
which cites rankings made by
the Lowy Institute of Australia.
Rwanda is lauded for its
COVID-19 prevention efforts
but not the state of its economy.
“The whole country is im-
poverished,” Matt Gerber said.
The nation has a dearth of
fundamental medical supplies
as a result. Often, Matt Gerber
said, Rwandans lack basics,
such as bandages.
He said his father was in-
spired to teach Rwandans how,
in the absence of bandages, to
cut sheets that can be used to
stop bleeding.
To help address this short-
age, the Gerbers brought a
large assortment of first aid
supplies, many donated by
people in Union County. The
supplies were collected and or-
ganized with major help from
Lou Gerber’s wife, Robin.
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Lottery results can now be found on
the second page of Sports.
“She rallied the community
to give donations, which made
this a successful venture,” said
her son Matt.
Lou Gerber, an EMT, made
his presentation with the aid of
an interpreter who translated
his words into Kinyarwanda,
Rwanda’s national language.
Early in his three-hour presen-
tation, the interpreter tapped
Gerber on the shoulder.
“She asked me to slow down
so that she could catch up to
me. When I’m talking about
something I’m excited about I
start talking too quickly,” Ger-
ber said”t
Matt Gerber said his father’s
talk was given in a hot, un-
comfortable outdoor setting.
Despite this, he said the first
responders listened intently
throughout.
“These people were so ex-
cited,” he said. “They were on
the edge of their seats.”
Matt Gerber, a corporate so-
cial responsibility strategist, also
spent a portion of his time in
Rwanda helping to develop a
vocational development pro-
gram for individuals who want
to become seamstresses. He do-
nated two sewing machines and
a large amount of sewing items
to help get this program started.
The trip to Rwanda was the
first for Lou Gerber and the
sixth for Matt in the past seven
years. Matt Gerber said he hopes
he and his father can make simi-
lar trips in the future.
“I hope we can start making
service trips somewhere in the
world every year,” he said.
You can make a difference in the life of an abused
or neglected child in foster care. CASA of Central
Oregon is looking for volunteers to become
Court Appointed Special Advocates in 2021.
Post-Mastectomy Care
Compression, Bras, Hats, Wigs
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April 3, 2021 through May, 22, 2021. RSVP is
required. Call 541-389-1618, ext. 8, or email us
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