KWSO News for Mon., Jul. 27, 2020

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reported 5 more cases of Covid-19 in its update on Friday.  There have been a total of 152 cases on the reservation since testing began. 92 people have recovered. As of Friday, there have been 1798 tests done at the Health and Wellness Center with 72 test results pending.  15 hospitalizations have been due to Covid-19 with 6 individuals having been discharged. The Tribes issue a community update each weekday afternoon. The STATE lab is taking 24–48 hours for results. The maximum daily capacity for Rapid tests is 20-22. The test kit inventory currently stands at 236 STATE and 400 ABBOTT (Rapid) test kits.

COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 289, the Oregon Health Authority reported early Sunday. OHA reported 277 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 16,758.

The Warm Springs Tribal Administration Building is closed for cleaning today. No staff will be available today.

The Warm Springs WIC Program staff is working from home during the tribal shutdown. They will be contacting WIC participants from different phone numbers during this time. If any WIC participants need to see staff in person for any reason, they will also be working on-site at the Health and Wellness Center every Tuesday and Thursday until the shutdown is lifted.

Wolfe Point residents were without water for a time over the weekend. This was reportedly due to the loss of one of the finish water pumps at the water plant. Public Utilities worked through the weekend to make repairs and restore water. Repairs were also done on a water main break which caused water issues for Kahneeta Hamlets residents.

The 509-J School District received significant revisions to Ready Schools, Safe Learners Guidance last week from the Governor and the Oregon Department of Education.  In June, schools and districts in Oregon were asked to plan to reopen schools in the fall under one of three models 1) On-site model, 2) Hybrid model (some time at school and some time on a distance learning model), and 3) Distance Learning Model. These three choices or combinations of these choices remain the same, but the new guidance must be reviewed carefully to determine impacts on these options for reopening our schools, Superintendent Ken Parshall stated in a letter sent out to families.  District leaders, Health Department Leaders, school administrators, teachers, school nurses, and support staff will review the shifts in the guidance and work to get a draft plan for reopening to families by Friday, July 31st. They would like additional feedback from the community to assist in the planning process. Here is the link to the online survey for family members, staff, and students.

The Wickiup Road Fire 5 miles west of Post, Oregon remains 101 acres and is now 80% contained. Firefighters will continue to secure and mop-up containment lines today and will be responsive to predicted dry lightning storms this afternoon and evening. The cause remains under investigation. With increasingly hot temperatures the safety of firefighters working on the fire line will remain a priority. Additionally, while work continues to fully contain the Wickiup Road Fire, firefighters will be released from the incident to preposition themselves in anticipation of the lightning predicted today. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for most of Central Oregon, excluding Sisters, for dry thunderstorms. The Warning will be in place from 4:00 pm today through 11:00 pm Tuesday.