NEWS
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
HeRMIsTOnHeRaLd.COM • A3
Umatilla County reports
its first COVID-19 death
County to open
contacttracing
center in courthouse
By ALEX CASTLE AND JADE
MCDOWELL
sTaFF WRITeRs
Umatilla
County
reported its first death of
a confirmed COVID-19
patient on May 1, as cases
rose sharply in the county
over the course of a week.
According to a news
release from Umatilla
County Public Health, the
patient was a 76-year-old
female who tested posi-
tive on April 14 and died
April 30 at Kadlec Regional
Medical Center in Rich-
land, Washington.
“This is an incredibly
sad announcement and one
that we had hoped not to
make in Umatilla County,”
the department stated. “We
encourage everyone to be
respectful as a family in our
community grieves.”
Umatilla
County
announced three new cases
on May 5, bringing the
county’s total to 73 cases.
The county was at 45 cases
one week prior.
Out of those 73 cases,
the county reported that
39 cases have recovered,
defined as going 72 hours
without symptoms. Three
of the county’s active cases
are currently in the hospital.
Contact tracing center
Umatilla County is
establishing a center to
answer calls and coordi-
nate COVID-19 investiga-
tions in its quest to begin
reopening local businesses
by May 15, commissioner
George Murdock said May
5.
“I don’t want to get to
the 15th and say, ‘Oops, the
county wasn’t prepared,”
Murdock said.
The center is being set up
this week on the third floor
of the Umatilla County
Courthouse in Pendle-
ton, Murdock said, and the
county will be hiring “prob-
ably three to six people” to
assist current county health
staff to trace contacts of
those who test positive for
COVID-19.
The courthouse is being
utilized to house the addi-
tional staff and ensure the
health department staff can
maintain adequate social
distancing.
“We need to have the
capacity to trace seven days
a week,” he said. “We don’t
want to put more people in
our health department and
put county employees at
risk.”
The board of commis-
sioners submitted its ver-
sion of a multiphase plan to
gradually lift some restric-
HH file photo
Umatilla County plans to open a COVID-19 contact tracing
center on the third floor of the courthouse in Pendleton,
pictured here.
tions starting May 15 to
Gov. Kate Brown last
week. Brown and the state
have presented their own
framework with criteria for
reopening, which Umatilla
County must meet in order
to follow through with its
plan.
The state’s criteria con-
cerns hospitalizations due
to the virus, personal pro-
tective equipment stocks,
and the local capacity to
track, monitor and respond
to future infections and
potential surges.
The state said last week
it plans on hiring an addi-
tional 600 people to assist
with contact tracing in order
to more effectively moni-
tor the virus’ spread when
businesses begin reopen-
ing. But as the state works
to hire and train those indi-
viduals, Murdock said the
county felt the need to be
proactive in making a plan
of their own.
“The state continues to
say it’s their plan to hire
600 new tracers,” Murdock
said. “But like a lot of this,
we haven’t seen those 600
tracers.”
Reopening plan
The large spike in cases
over the past week in Uma-
tilla County throw the
county’s proposal to reopen
some nonessential busi-
nesses on May 15 in doubt.
“What the epi curve
shows is we probably hav-
en’t quite peaked in Uma-
tilla County yet,” Uma-
tilla County Public Health
Director Joe Fiumara said
last week.
According to the “epi
curve,” which can be found
on the health department’s
website and shows the par-
ticular date that an individ-
ual began showing symp-
toms of the virus, 18 of
the county’s 56 confirmed
cases as of April 30 began
exhibiting signs of COVID-
19 in the week after Easter
Sunday between April 19
and April 26.
“The good and the bad is
nearly all of them have been
connected to existing cases
in some way,” Fiumara said.
“The good being that helps
with our investigations, the
bad is that means more peo-
ple are interacting.”
While the health depart-
ment’s contact tracing for
each case has revealed resi-
dents are struggling to con-
tinue strictly abiding by
social distancing guide-
lines, Fiumara said it may
be a preview of what could
happen when restrictions
are eased.
On May 1, after Brown
held a news conference
outlining a plan to begin
reopening some businesses
in some parts of the state
as an unknown future date,
Murdock maintained opti-
mism that the county could
still reopen with other rural
counties in May, despite its
higher numbers than the
rest of Eastern Oregon.
“I feel reopening will be
by region, and I feel that
rural Eastern Oregon will
be leading the charge,” he
said May 1. “We can’t guar-
antee the behaviors of our
citizens, but we can guar-
antee that we’re prepared
to deal with any surge that
comes from it.”
Though Fiumara signed
off on Umatilla County’s
plan before cases began ris-
ing more sharply, he said
last week that he wasn’t
as confident that the state
will give the county the
go-ahead after seeing the
latest data.
“If
we’re
trending
upwards, I’m not sure the
state is going to grant it,”
he said of the county’s pro-
posal. “And I’m not sure I
can argue that. All we can
really do is follow the data.”
The increase in cases
is also correlated to the
increased testing capacity,
Fiumara said, and may con-
tinue as access improves.
“With more testing is
going to come more cases,”
he said.
Brown’s plan includes
opening up testing criteria
to allow anyone with symp-
toms of the virus to be tested
within 48 to 72 hours. The
plan is aiming to perform
30 tests per week for every
10,000 Oregonians.
Oregon Health Author-
ity spokesman Jonathan
Modie said the recent spike
in cases in Umatilla County
has caught the eye of the
state, which intends to
work with the county health
department to try to miti-
gate further infections.
In Morrow County, the
county announced its 10th
COVID-19 case on May
5. Right now, four of the
county’s cases have recov-
ered, and the five that are
still showing symptoms are
isolating at home. Accord-
ing to a news release, eight
of the county’s confirmed
cases are in Boardman,
one in Irrigon and one in
Heppner.
Statewide,
Oregon
passed 100 COVID-19
deaths on May 1, and was
at 113 confirmed deaths on
May 5.
Nationwide, the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention listed 68,279
known COVID-19 deaths
on May 5. The count sur-
passes the nation’s worst
flu season in a decade,
when an estimated 61,000
Americans died of influ-
enza during the 2017-18 flu
season.
Photo contributed by City of Hermiston
The city has finished paving East Theater Lane between
Northeast Eighth and 10th streets, adjacent to the new
phase of Cimarron Terrace (right) and land for a planned
new elementary school (left).
City finishing
up East Theater
Lane paving
By JADE MCDOWELL
neWs edITOR
Hermiston’s northeast
edge is getting more shov-
el-ready every day as the
city finishes a paving proj-
ect on East Theater Lane.
The previously graveled
section of road between
Northeast Eighth Street and
Northeast 10th Street will
reopen as a fully paved road
within a few days, accord-
ing to a news release, after
crews finish striping it.
The road project joins
water and sewer projects
that the city has completed
in recent months to attract
new housing to that section
of town by reducing devel-
opment costs.
Paving the road’s lanes
of travel was funded
through money the city
receives through franchise
fees and the state gas tax.
The developer of the nearby
Cimmaron Terrace housing
development, which is cur-
rently under construction,
paid for wider asphalt and
sidewalks on the south side
of the road.
Mayor David Drozt-
mann said in a statement
that public investment stim-
ulates private investment to
help Hermiston grow in a
sustainable way.
“Housing development
has been a top goal of the
city council for many years,
and the combination of this
road, the new water tower,
and the future school is the
foundation of a great Herm-
iston neighborhood,” he
said.
In addition to benefit-
ing housing developers, the
road project will be help-
ful when Hermiston School
District builds a new ele-
mentary school along that
stretch of Theater Lane.
The new school is in the
design phase after voters
approved a school bond in
November 2019.
The road is 25 miles per
hour for now, but will be a
school zone once the school
is completed.
The school district
partnered with the city
and Cimmaron Terrace
to extend sewer services
along Theater Lane while
the paving work was going
on. That sewer project pairs
with a water project the
city recently completed in
partnership with Umatilla
County, including a new
water tower on the corner
of Northeast 10th Street
and Punkin Center.
“By coordinating the
School District with Cim-
maron Terrace, we were
able to save both signifi-
cant costs by allowing them
to install necessary sewer in
Theater ahead of our pav-
ing,” Assistant City Man-
ager Mark Morgan said
in a statement. “This now
means that we have all
urban-level utilities almost
a half-mile further out into
our Urban Growth Area,
which will make hous-
ing development substan-
tially more affordable in the
future.”
To see the status of more
projects in the city’s capi-
tal improvement plan, visit
www.hermistonprojects.
com.
CAPECO
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.HermistonHerald.com
Is Here to Help
CAPECO IS STILL WORKING TO HELP
THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH THEIR
ENERGY BILLS .
Encourage Economic Development
Umatilla County is rich in natural resources, from water to
farmland to timber to energy, which are the cornerstone of our
economy. I will be an advocate for these industries and jobs.
Good Shepherd is now offering
virtual classes?
MEDICARE 101:
May 12, 2-3pm
STRESS MANAGEMENT:
May 14, 12-1pm
LIVING WELL INTRODUCTION:
May 19th 2-3pm
FALL PREVENTION SEMINAR:
May 28th, 2-3pm
Develop Transportation Infrastructure
We’re ideally located as a hub of the Northwest and can transport
a wide variety of goods to any market, domestic or international.
We must expand and protect our infrastructure network.
Create a More Livable County
We can enhance the lives of residents by supporting public
safety, maintaining strong lines of communication with elected
officials, and supporting the development of a skilled workforce.
We are working from our home offices to assist
you. We can still process your energy application
through the mail, email, fax and phone.
CAPECO strives to deflect some of your energy
costs for income eligible residents of Umatilla,
Morrow, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties by
delivering the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Oregon
Energy Assistance Program (OEAP). Income
eligible households may receive a one-time
payment, which is paid to the utility vendor.
Eligibility is based on the household total
gross income for the last 30 days. For example,
a household of four with income at or below
$4,163.92 will qualify for assistance.
The stimulus payments from the CARES Act,
which can be up to $1,200 per person or
$500 per child, are not counted as income.
Contact 541-667-3509 or healthinfo@gshealth.org to register
*Computer required to attend classes*
The LIHEAP/OEAP program is open to the general public.
Anyone wishing to apply, please call
541-276-1926 or 1-800-752-1139 for Pendleton office,
or 541-289-7755 or 1-800-214-4776 for the Hermiston office.
You can also reach us on the CAPECO website
Paid for by Friends for Dan Dorran. 242 E. Main St., Box 2020, Hermiston, OR 97838
www.capeco-works.org