KWSO News for Mon., Nov. 9, 2020

Late last Friday (11/6/20) the Warm Springs Community COVID-19 update reported a total of 10 positive cases of coronavirus for the week. That brought the total number of positive cases diagnosed in Warm Springs to 398 since the pandemic began. There are 13 active cases of COVID-19 on the reservation with 13 close contacts being monitored by Public Health. There have been 47 individuals hospitalized due to COVID-19 with 45 people having been discharged. 10 Warm Springs people have died from COVID-19.

The Oregon Health Authority reported Sunday 874 new, confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, following two days of new daily records. COVID-19 claimed one more life for a total of 730 deaths. Oregon’s total number of confirmed infections is more than 50,448.

On Friday state officials announced new restrictions that will be implemented in at least five of the state’s counties as part of a two-week pause on social activities. Those counties are Multnomah, Marion, Malheur, Umatilla and Jackson. That means new restrictions including limiting social interactions to your own household, halting visits at long-term care facilities and limiting capacity for indoor venues at 50 people. Businesses will also be urged to mandate employees work from home as much as possible. O-H-A says if people choose to socialize outside their households, it should be with groups of no more than six people. Bars and restaurants will be strongly encouraged, but not required, to shift to take-out and outdoor dining only. The agency says, more counties could be added to that “pause” list today. The 2-week pause will start this Wednesday, November 11th and extend through November 25th.

One of Indian Country Today’s headlines for this Monday Morning is the appearance of Navajo president Jonathan Nez on CNN yesterday. He laid out his expectations for Biden-Harris administration by starting off pointing out that when CNN categorized Native Americans as “something else” in exit polling on Election Day – it was “very offensive to all of us throughout Indian Country.” Nez said he expects the Biden-Harris transition team to appoint a tribal leader. (https://indiancountrytoday.com/)

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered federal regulators to re-evaluate the safety of genetically modified salmon. But the court is still allowing thousands of engineered fish raised in tanks in the Midwest to reach American consumers by the end of the year. The Food and Drug Administration in 2019 approved the farming and growing in land-based pens of an engineered fish that splices genes from Atlantic salmon, Pacific Chinook and an eel-like species called ocean pout. Marketed as AquAdvantage Salmon, it’s designed to grow about twice as fast as regular farmed salmon. Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda says scientists had urged the FDA to fully consider the ecological risks that could occur if a man-made salmon species became established in the wild. U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria [CHA-bree-uh] ruled Thursday, ordering the FDA to study the issue further and consult with other federal resource agencies over potential risks to wild salmon. AquaBounty Technologies says it’s “disappointed” by the ruling. But it says it won’t impact operations at its Canadian egg-growing facility on Prince Edward Island or its Indiana fish farm.