CORONAVIRUS, Government, Washington County

County commissioners to host COVID-19 town hall December 12

Face masks. Photo: Chas Hundley

On December 3, Washington County was one of 25 Oregon counties placed in the “Extreme Risk” category under a new COVID-19 risk classification system unveiled by Governor Kate Brown, and it is this topic and more that will be discussed by the Washington County Board of Commissioners during a COVID-19 town hall on Saturday, December 12. 

The event will be held digitally on the video conferencing platform Zoom, and will also be streamed live on Youtube on Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and be hosted by the elected officials that make up the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

The event is the second such event held since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a county press release

Topics on the agenda of the town hall include the county’s response to the pandemic, an overview of the governor’s new health guidelines, how to combat the virus during the holiday season, and how the county is prioritizing county resources to combat the virus and the impact on community needs. 

The town hall will have an opportunity for participants to ask questions regarding public health and community support as well.

To obtain meeting access through Zoom, attendees must RSVP (free) through the event’s Eventbrite page, or viewers can simply navigate to the live stream on the county’s Youtube page

Spanish interpretation will be provided for the event. 

More information on the county’s response to the pandemic can be found at https://www.co.washington.or.us/COVID-19.

In a November 25 press release, the county’s Public Health Division noted their agency’s support of the new guidelines that had been issued, and asked that county residents aid in contact tracing efforts if they had received a positive COVID-19 test. 

“If you are sick or have tested positive, please stay home and away from others,” the agency asked, adding that those who have tested positive should contact those they have been in close contact with immediately and self-quarantine. A full handbook covering this (.pdf) and other similar topics was created by the county to aid in navigating what comes next after a positive COVID-19 test. 

On Monday, December 7, the Oregon Health Authority announced that 12 more Oregonians had died after contracting COVID-19, raising the state’s death toll to 1,045. Added to the roll of  confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases were 1,331 new cases for a total of 85,788 cases since the onset of the pandemic. 

Of the newly reported deaths, one was a Washington County resident. 

Oregon’s hospital system had 565 hospitalized patients as of Monday, 19 more than the previous day, with 120 people in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, seven more than the prior day, according to the Oregon Health Authority. 

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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