THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020
Rogue River Weather
Today Sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind.
Friday Sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday, Independence Day Sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Sunny, with a high near 82.
Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 80.
TODAY’S HEADLINES
Klamath County Public Health officials reported the first coronavirus-related death in the area on Wednesday, only the second such fatality in southern Oregon.
Officials said that the death happened on Tuesday, June 30. Klamath County Public Health asked that the community respect the family’s need for privacy, and their need to grieve and process the loss. While the agency did not identify the individual, it did provide some basic demographic details.
The person was a woman between the ages of 70 and 79. It is not yet known if she was hospitalized at the time. Klamath County reported a total of 123 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, out of 5,143 processed tests. Ten people have been hospitalized for the virus since the outbreak began.
Many of the recent COVID-19 cases in southern Oregon have been among younger people — particularly in Klamath County — accompanied by a comparatively lower hospitalization rate.
The state of Oregon has reached a record high in the daily reporting of its COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Oregon Health Authority announced 281 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19.
The OHA also said one more person has died of COVID-19 in Oregon, bringing the state’s death toll to 208. The patient was a 91-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive on June 18 and died on June 29. Her place of death is being confirmed. The OHA said she had underlying medical conditions. The OHA noted that in addition to the record case count, the fastest rate of new cases is occurring in central and eastern Oregon.
AROUND THE STATE
On Wednesday, July 1, 2020 at approximately 10:46 A.M., a Douglas County Deputy attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle south of Reedsport on Hwy 101. The vehicle fled and eventually crashed on Hwy 101 near milepost 217.
The operator of the vehicle is deceased.
What appeared to be explosive devices were located at the scene and the Oregon State Police Explosives Unit is heading to the scene. Oregon State Police is investigating the crash. Hwy 101 was closed for several hours with no detour available.
Oregon’s COVID-19 emergency declaration and associated public land closures coincide with what is promising to be a massive wildfire season.
That has forced private forestland owners to make difficult decisions about whether to pre-emptively close their forests to recreation to prevent wildfires that could endanger the lives of firefighters and communities. Most private forestland owners in Oregon strive to keep their forests open to the public for recreational access as good community partners, at least until fire season reaches unsafe levels. As a result they often incur significant costs in the form of vandalism, trash dumping, and increased security, as Oregon Forests Forever reported in January. This year, because state and federal recreation areas are closed due to COVID-19, the number of recreational visitors to private forests has increased substantially, as well as the trash some leave behind.
In the Grants Pass area, four new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Josephine County, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 41. Of the new cases, three are presumptive and one is confirmed.
Public Health officials were notified of the cases by the official medical record system provided by the Oregon Health Authority.
Josephine County Public Health is investigating all cases to identify contacts and exposures and to isolate and monitor all individuals relevant to the cases. Public Health will reach out to anyone suspected of exposure to COVID-19.
Of the 41 total cases, 26 individuals have recovered and one individual died from complications relating to a COVID-19 infection.
Oregon DMV online services will not be available from 6:30PM July 2 through 8AM on July 6, as part of the DMV computer system replacement.
The system being installed over the holiday weekend will bring new online services and improved efficiency to DMV when it launches on July 6. All DMV services are on hold over the weekend as computer systems are down for the technology replacement and testing. DMV encourages customers to visit www.oregondmv.com/dmv2u starting July 6, when customers will be able to get these services online: Schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment, Order a replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged driver license or ID card, Pay a reinstatement fee and Order your own driver record.