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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2020)
June 26, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress County moves to make masks mandatory The Columbia Press Members of Clatsop County Pub- lic Health Department were in Lin- coln County last week to help facilitate testing for COVID-19. County officials will ask the go vernor to include Clatsop in the requirement to wear face masks in businesses, which she imposed on seven other counties last week. “From what I’ve been read- ing, if the whole nation had been wearing face masks from the beginning, we’d have a much lower count,” County Commissioner Sara Nebeker told fellow commissioners Wednesday night. “We have a divided population who thinks it’s a political thing and that’s really very sad because it’s sci- ence.” Elected officials from War- renton, Cannon Beach, As- toria and Gearhart all have spoken with county officials, encouraging them to make the anti-COVID-19 mask require- ment effective countywide, County Manager Don Bohn said. “It will take the onus off the business owners,” said Matt Stanley, manager of the Asto- ria Co-op, which is requiring shoppers to wear masks in the store. “Unfortunately, there’s a very vocal minority who make it seem like there’s a lot of peo- ple who don’t want this. … I hope you guys support this. It’s the right thing to do.” c oUnty lends a hand Members of Clatsop County Public Health Department’s “Swab Squad” testing team went to Newport last week to conduct a community testing. Lincoln County has had at least 10 outbreaks of COVID-19, many of them involving mem- bers of the Latino community. Several members of the Clat- sop team speak Spanish and the group tested 328 contacts of known cases in six hours. s ports programs Outdoor athletic programs in the Warrenton-Hammond School District began Monday, June 22. “If your athletes are any- thing like my children, they are chomping at the bit to have the opportunity to work out and get back to some normal- cy,” Warrenton High School Athletic Director Ian O’Brien wrote in a letter to parents. Coaches will take it a bit easy initially because many stu- dents haven’t been working out during the past few months, he said. The workout opportunities aren’t required, but are de- signed to help athletes pre- pare for fall, winter and spring sports. To receive more information or guidelines for each sport, contact O’Brien at obrieni@ warrentonk12.org. l ocal and state parks Warrenton’s playgrounds opened Friday, June 19. Users still will be required to maintain a 6-foot distance from others and avoid congre- gating in large groups. Oregon State Parks have been reopening slowly since early May, but nearly every park is experiencing reduced levels of service due to a $22 million budget gap. Some state parks won’t re- open until after Labor Day, in- cluding Saddle Mountain State Natural Area. Check park status at state- parks.oregon.gov. o regon ’ s positiVe case coUnt Oregon’s COVID-19 positive test rate is 3.3 percent, accord- ing to a testing update released by Oregon Health Authority. There had been 27,671 tests administered as of late last week, with a cumulative 3.3 percent testing positive, con- siderably lower than the na- 5 tional average of 10 percent. The number of tests per- formed has steadily increased each week, and the number of positive cases and the test positivity rate have increased significantly over the past two weeks. Recent large outbreaks around the state also have con- tributed to the increases. In early June, Oregon reached the threshold of test- ing 2 percent of the popula- tion each month, a national benchmark set by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention. dmV Up and rUnning The Department of Motor Vehicles has reopened and is taking appointments. A moratorium on citations for expired driver licenses, permits, ID cards and vehi- cle registration was extended through Oct. 1. The grace period is intend- ed to allow Oregonians to keep driving while awaiting a DMV appointment as the agency works through a sub- stantial backlog. Your financial partner for today, tomorrow, and the future. We’re not going anywhere and your money is safe with us. WE’VE GOT Y OUR . K B AC Zaheen and Zain: Fibre Family Members Since 2019 85 W Marine Dr. • Astoria 2315 N Roosevelt Dr • Seaside 1771 Ensign Ln • Warrenton 503.842.7523 • www.tlcfcu.org fibrefamily A DIVISION OF CREDIT UNION ILikeTLC Federally Insured By NCUA