Rachael McDonald

Lane County has asked the state for a refrigerated mobile morgue. The need comes with an increase in deaths associated with COVID-19 and other causes.

The Oregon Salmon Commission and coastal lawmakers want Governor Kate Brown to request federal disaster relief for the state’s coastal salmon fisheries for the past three years. 

Over the weekend, Oregon surpassed 300,000 confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

Eugene 4J and Bethel School Districts have opted-in to a voluntary weekly testing program for COVID-19. It’s administered by the University of Oregon in partnership with Oregon Health Authority.  

The Oregon Football team beat Ohio State 35 to 28 Saturday in Columbus. This was the number 12 Ducks first win against the 3rd ranked Buckeyes after losing in the nine previous games between the two teams. 

This summer, KLCC was pleased to have news reporting intern Jen Wright through the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism.

Monoclonal antibody treatment is now available at Peacehealth Peace Harbor Medical Center in Florence. The treatment is for patients with COVID-19 who are at risk for severe complications.

The surge in Covid-19 cases in Lane County has prompted Lane Community College to move to mostly remote classes this fall. The announcement came Tuesday.

Residents in the South Willamette Valley are experiencing unhealthy air quality Friday and it’s expected to stick around through Saturday afternoon.

Oregon U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio received the Wayne Morse Historical Park Corporation Integrity in Politics Award Wednesday.

Officials say the Skyline Ridge Complex of fires in southern Douglas County is 100% contained. The complex of 19 lightning-caused fires started on August 1st and burned more than 57-hundred acres.

A patient with COVID-19 died Wednesday while waiting for an intensive care unit bed at Mercy Health Hospital in Roseburg.

Lane County hospitals are at capacity with COVID-19 patients and the problem is expected to worsen in the coming weeks.

Smoke from area wildfires is affecting air quality in many parts of the region today. In Eugene / Springfield, the Air Quality Index was in the “unhealthy range Thursday afternoon.  

Another heat wave is forecast for the region this week with temperatures expected to climb into the 100s Wednesday through Friday. Here are some places that people can go to cool off:

As of midnight Tuesday western Lane County is in “extreme” (RED) for public use fire restrictions. 

The Oregon Health Authority reported 3,229 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, Monday. The case count includes new infections recorded since last Friday.  

The Whiteaker Block Party scheduled for this Saturday in Eugene has been canceled. Organizers cite rising case counts and hospitalizations and the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Lane County in their announcement.