Lane County’s Board of Health has decided to extend a local Emergency Declaration through the end of the year. The decision will free up an additional $5 million to respond to the pandemic.
County commissioners heard from Emergency Manager, Patence Winningham-Melcher. She explained why the emergency status is necessary.
“The (COVID-19) call center and supporting those vax clinics, setting up those satellite sites around Lane County is straining our resources here locally, she said. "And we do continue to provide hotel rooms for quarantine and isolation for those who don’t have the means.”
Winningham added, the National Guard is mobilized at RiverBend Medical Center in Springfield and any available ventilators are being shuffled around to other parts of the county.
Public Health officials now say Lane County’s COVID-19 case rates are the highest they’ve been at any point in the pandemic.
Over the last few weeks, nearly 389 people per 100,000 residents in Lane County have tested positive for the virus. The highest level of transmission on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scale is 100 per 100,000. Board members sought more compelling ways to inspire constiuents to get the shot before Fall and an expected uptick in cases.
