The number of counties continues to decline
Lane County continues to show a significant decrease in COVID-19 cases. The rate per 100,000 continues to decline and hit a one-month low yesterday at 747.8, the lowest infection rate since January 6and. The county began to see large increases just after the Christmas holidays, reaching nearly 1,400 cases per 100,000 in late January. The Florence area was an exception to county numbers, with case numbers continuing to be high. There were 14 more cases reported yesterday for the region as the absolute total hits 1,327. Coast Radio News has reached out to Jason Davis with LCPH about the significance of the numbers here along the coast. With the exception of information from Peace Harbor Hospital, Florence has no local health authority to explain the impact the numbers are having in the community overall. Florence has consistently averaged 200+ over two weeks for over a month.
Breakthrough cases
The Oregon Health Authority reports that breakthrough cases of coronavirus in vaccinated people are just over 10% in fully vaccinated and boosted people. It breaks down to 4,852 out of the total 44,421 cases reported last week. Breakthrough cases continue to affect all ages, but the average age of breakout cases is 48. There have also been a total of 112,157 pediatric cases recorded since the start of the COVID pandemic. The total number of cases in the state yesterday was 5,417.
Seat belt application
The Florence City Police Department continues to focus on seat belts this week. Emphasis is placed on the proper use of restraints, including child safety seats. The ongoing blitz will continue until Sunday, February 13and and will culminate in a DUII enforcement campaign on Super Bowl Sunday. Florence Police received dedicated funding to pay for the campaign with funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of USDOT.
Governor Brown pledges funds for housing and child care
Governor Kate Brown’s state of the state address kicked off Oregon’s short legislative session, and organizations such as the Native American Youth and Family Center are watching closely. Brown delivered his last speech as governor of Oregon virtually this year. She outlined a host of priorities, including a $400 million proposal to fight affordable housing. The focus on housing and homelessness aligns with the center’s goals. William Miller is the head of the NAYA Action Fund.
“Continued investment in the most affected communities is really the most important thing. With COVID and all the issues we’ve had with it, our communities continue to struggle and our young people are struggling, right, in terms of our education and being out of the classroom for so long because of COVID .
In education, the NAYA Action Fund supports funds to provide professional learning opportunities for educators on ethnic studies standards and funding for the Department of Early Learning and Child Care. In his speech, Brown proposed a $100 million investment in child care.