May 29, 2020
T he C olumbia P ress
4
Emergency: Lodging begins reopening June 5
Continued from Page 1
Unless the county commis-
sion votes differently from
what’s expected, camping
and short-term lodging can
reopen at 60 percent capac-
ity beginning June 5. Three
weeks later, on June 26, those
businesses can return to 100
percent capacity if coronavi-
rus cases hold steady.
Warrenton expects to have
City Hall and other public
buildings open June 8, with
protection such as plexiglass
screens in place for employ-
ees who meet with the public.
Above: A family
sets up camp
at Stub Stew-
art State Park
before the park
was closed.
Left: Campers
chat at a site
in Milo McIver
State Park.
C ases
Clatsop County Public
Health Department was no-
tified of three new COVID-19
cases on May 22, but there
had been no additional new
cases by Wednesday after-
noon.
The three new cases in-
volved a woman in her 50s, a
man in his 40s and a teenage
girl, all of them from north
county. All were recovering
at home.
The county has recorded a
total of 45 cases since March
Oregon State Parks
23. Thirty-eight have recov-
ered; none has died.
C aMping and lodging
Cannon Beach and Seaside
rescinded their emergency
orders and opened hotels and
other lodging Tuesday. The
beach in Seaside reopened
May 18.
s tate CaMpgrounds
Some Oregon state parks
will open to limited use on
June 9.
Camping at Fort Stevens
remains closed, but day use
will be allowed. Day use also
will be allowed at Stub Stew-
art, Gleneden Beach, Foga-
rty Creek, Cascadia, Bristow,
Cottonwood Canyon and at
most parks that don’t have
camping facilities.
No state coastal camp-
grounds north of Lincoln City
will open.
State park camping closed
statewide March 23 in an ef-
fort to contain the spread of
coronavirus and limit travel
to smaller communities and
rural areas.
“Oregon needs what its
parks can provide,” says Lisa
Sumption, parks director.
“This is less service than Ore-
gonians are used to, and we’re
doing our best to stretch the
budget, but it will take con-
tinued cooperation and sup-
port from visitors to make
this work.”
C ontaCt traCing sCaM
The Federal Trade Commis-
sion issued a warning about a
text-messaging scam involv-
ing supposed COVID-19 con-
tact tracing.
Scammers posing as gov-
ernment workers send text
messages to potential victims
asking them to click a link
sent in the text. Clicking on
the link downloads software
onto a victim’s phone that
allows scammers access to
personal and financial infor-
mation.
Contract tracing – in which
people who have been in
contact with someone carry-
ing the virus are warned and
advised to quarantine – is
an important tool in slowing
spread of the virus.
If you’re unsure about a text
or call from someone claim-
ing to be a contact tracer,
contact the Clatsop County
Public Health Department
at 503-325-8500. You will
be connected with a public
health nurse who can verify
whether you’re being con-
tacted as a part of a local in-
vestigation.
C ourt Challenge
A U.S. Federal Court judge
denied a request by a group
of businesses and a nonprof-
it entity to temporarily block
Gov. Brown’s stay-at-home
executive orders.
The judge’s decision recog-
nizes that states have broad
legal authority to take actions
that protect public health.
On May 18, a Baker County
Circuit Court judge ruled the
orders were invalid because
governor’s orders infringe
on personal religious free-
dom and the ability to earn a
living. But later that day the
state’s Supreme Court stayed
the ruling.
r eturn to CCC
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Ore., thinks the country
might benefit from a pro-
gram launched to help the
nation recover after the Great
Depression.
Earlier this month he in-
troduced the 21 st Century
Conservation Corps for Our
Health and Our Jobs Act.
The plan would create “des-
perately needed jobs and
support rural economies,”
Wyden said.
The plan would build on
the existing Service and
Conservation Corps net-
work and invest in programs
that increase job training and
create jobs to restore public
lands and watersheds.