KWSO News for Wed., Aug, 25, 2021

People in Oregon, regardless of vaccination status, will once again be required to wear masks in most public outdoor settings beginning Friday. That includes large outdoor events where physical distancing is not possible. Health officials say part of the reason is that they’re seeing instances where cases are clustering around outdoor events, such as music festivals. Gov. Kate Brown announced the outdoor mask mandate Tuesday. Oregon is one of a handful of states with an indoor mask mandate already in effect. However, according to the governor’s office, Oregon is the first to reinstitute a statewide mask requirement for outdoor public areas where people are close together.

Facing staffing shortages and workloads made more difficult by the pandemic, st Charles hospital systems requested help from the Oregon National guard and the state approved the request. While guard members are not nurses, they can prepare rooms, do clerical and other jobs. On Monday, guard members were helping at St. Charles in madras. The hospital only has nine nurses half of the full time employees the hospital needs to be fully staffed. Madras sends its COVID patients to St. Charles Bend, where the delta variant is breaking grim records:– 66 COVID patients hospitalized– 15 of whom are in the Intensive Care Unit– 14 of those are on ventilators. Each of those numbers sets a record. St. Charles Bend has discontinued elective surgery. It doesn’t have the staff. St. Charles Madras has limited its surgery schedule to Mondays and Tuesdays. Hospitals don’t want people to stay away. Don’t, however, go to the hospital to get tested for COVID. Leave the Emergency Department open for people with life-threatening medical conditions or serious injuries.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is free, but going to the hospital for COVID-19 is not. Even if you don’t catch the virus, or go to the hospital local residents can still pay the price. Breaking down the cost of COVID-19 is not simple. It depends on the type of insurance if the person is insured at all. It also depends on the type of care the patient receives in the hospital, based on how extreme the case is. According to data from the independent nonprofit, Fair Health, an uninsured COVID-19 patient could see costs averaging around $73,300. Now if the patient is insured and in-network it lowers to about $38,221. In 2020, OHA said they spent about $38 million on COVID-19 services. To put that into perspective, OHA could use $38 million for 316 years of cancer treatment* or give 300 people heart surgery. This has a d

The Oregon State Fair has been canceled just four times in the past 160 years — once in 1905 because it would be competing for attendance with the Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, twice during World War II, and last year because of COVID-19. We’re still in the throes of the pandemic, with record cases and hospitalizations being reported almost daily, but it looks like fair executives will avoid a fifth cancellation. As of now, the fair’s a go. But fairgoers will have to wear a mask, and not just inside. The theme is “Fun Makes a Comeback,” and opening day is Friday, Aug. 27, with animal exhibits, carnival rides, competitions, concerts and food planned during the 11-day event that is scheduled to run through Sept. 6.

The Bull Complex is roughly 60 miles east of Salem, near the Warm Springs Reservation in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Helicopter drops have been called in; on an incident that’s nearing 7-thousand acres but remains at 0 percent containment. 463 personnel are using controlled burns and what’s called indirect containment lines -such as roads, waterways, and ridges- to help limit its spread. Nick Howell is a public information officer with the incident.  ”The Bull Complex is competing for resources, and we are still short on some crews and some other special needs for this incident specifically,” he told KLCC.  “But there’s a lot of fire activities going on in the state and the region, so those resources are definitely assigned on a priority basis.”

Starting in September public school students in Oregon who menstruate will be able to get free pads or tampons. The Oregon’s Legislature passage of House Bill 3294 this year means all public schools must provide period products free to elementary, middle and high school students. Oregon Department of Education sexual health and school health specialist Sasha Grenier says the new program will help students participate actively in classes and school activities by alleviating some of the economic strain and experiences of shame that are often barriers for menstruating people accessing their education. The products will be in at least two restrooms this year in any building where education happens.

The Oregon Health Authority on Tuesday reported 2,804 new coronavirus cases, 30 new deaths, and a record-breaking 1,000 Oregonians hospitalized with COVID-19. The deadly summer surge of coronavirus throughout Oregon has the state’s intensive care unit beds 93% filled, with 283 coronavirus patients in ICU beds Tuesday — up 30 from Monday. Test positivity rates remain in the double digits, with Oregon reporting 12.2% again Tuesday and an average of 2,105 new COVID-19 cases each day. COVID-19 vaccination rates in Oregon are sitting at 65% of individuals with at least one does and 59% of people in Oregon are fully vaccinated.