by Anne Scheck
INDEPENDENCE RESPONDS TO CORONAVIRUS THREAT
Nearly two weeks ago, County Commissioner Craig Pope reported there were “zero cases” of coronavirus in Polk County, telling the Board of Commissioners that “we do not have any persons under monitoring or investigation.” Today the mayor of Independence said he will declare a city-wide emergency by this evening in preparation for COVID-19.
As the first case of this new coronavirus infection in Polk County continues to be followed by health authorities, “social distancing” is no longer an option, but a new normal. The Polk County case, which is believed to have been acquired within the community, has given rise to measures to slow transmission, such as school closures and event cancellations.
“The numbers will continue to increase,” predicted Mayor John McArdle at a special meeting of the Independence City Council this morning. The city plans to waive late fees for water bills and to cease disconnection for non-payment – a follow-up to MINET’s announcement yesterday that the municipal broadband is taking that approach for its customers.
City council and budget meetings, which are required by state law to be open to the public, will continue to be held -- but they likely will include call-in or internet options so attendance can be done remotely, said City Manager Tom Pessemier. A website by the city for updates on the situation has been set up, and Independence will use social media to publicize it.
The city is following guidelines from the Oregon Health Authority, Mr. Pessemier said. The Heritage Museum will be closed to the public, he added. The Independence Civic Center will be open and maintain its current hours. However, two city-information counters will be shuttered: The one on the second floor, where citizens go to ask questions, and the planning-and-building counter on the third floor, where zoning and construction inquiries are made. The police desk, on the second floor, will remain open, Mr. Pessemier said.
Other changes already could be seen this past week across town: A big bottle of sanitizer was provided along with mini-muffins when members of the M-I Chamber of Commerce visited Polk County Fire Station No. 1; Clerks at Roth’s Fresh Market warned that new stocks of hand sanitizer aren’t expected to be available any time soon. Some shelves emptied at Hi-School Pharmacy, as liquid soap in pump bottles disappeared by late afternoon.
KEEPING UP-TO-DATE ON COVID-19: A CHALLENGE
Getting new information on the coronavirus from state public health authorities has been a source of media complaint, prompting editorials this past week in both The Oregonian and The Salem Reporter.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and several academic centers have been offering online help to increase public understanding of COVID-19, spelling out what the symptoms look like and how easily the virus can be defeated by proper use of soap and water. Sometimes, symptoms can be so mild from COVID-19 that they seem nearly non-existent, observed Maria van Kerkhove PhD, head of emerging diseases for WHO. But transmission by people without symptoms is thought to be very uncommon. “We don’t believe they (infected people who are symptom-free) play a major role in transmission,” she said in a recent WHO video-cast. Those with symptoms are believed to be transmitters – dry cough is a common early, visible sign.
And close contact usually is required, although contaminated objects can spread the virus, too – but diluted bleach on surfaces kills or inactivates it. In fact, COVID-19 has been found to be “more sensitive” to good soap-and-water handwashing than some other viruses, according to Chandra Shekhar Bakshi DVM PhD of New York Medical College. And it’s relatively “big” so it’s “not going to travel long distances,” Dr. Bakshi explained during a broadcast at his college titled “Coronavirus: What We Know and What We Don’t.” Similar outreach efforts by other universities have suggested that more details about COVID-19 will begin to surface in the near future, leading to better understanding in the days to come.
COMMENTARY: Home-Made Portable Hand-Washer & Helpers
Keep calm and take precautions. This is the way this 60-something with a twisted ankle and an infected tooth is carrying on, amid an expected regional epidemic. I got my injured leg running around like a kid at recess, scooping up copies of The Independent, as soon as I heard the news of an infected person in Polk County. What you’ll see now in those plexiglass displays downtown are directions to the Trammart News website. And you’ll see something else, too – periodic pieces on this sudden but likely long-term preventive effort in the Linking Letter and on the Trammart News Facebook page.
Today I heard our mayor say he’d never seen anything like this in his lifetime. Well, this is one advantage of being older. I've seen it before and I reported on it: AIDS, SARS and bird flu. We're going to get through this in ways I’ve been privileged to witness in the past, with people who amazed me with their resourcefulness in the face of a health threat. And with regard to resourcefulness, I'm sending a shout-out to a young man who helped me in my failed hunt for hand sanitizer -- he suggested I just go “home-made.”
So, I put together my own hand-washing kit for travel in my car: small jar of strong liquid soap, clean folded paper towels, bottle of water, all tucked into a little carrying case, which I sprayed with Lysol. Maybe I’ll look funny to onlookers as I stand with frothy hands in a parking lot somewhere, dumping bottled water over fingers and palms to finish my protocol.
I asked Kristty Polanco MPH, who heads up the Polk County Health Department, about my portable hand-washing unit. Obviously, I put her in an uncomfortable spot – but I pointed out that hand-sanitizers seem to be going extinct. “Based on the CDC recommendation, soap and water for 20 seconds is preferred, so you are on track with your suggestions,” she stated. “Hand sanitizer is the second-best option for when washing is not available.” So, thank you, Ms. Polanco. I promise to sing the happy-birthday song twice while scrub-a-dubbing wherever I am. This is likely to make me an even funnier sight, of course. But I want to do what’s right. -end-
INDEPENDENCE RESPONDS TO CORONAVIRUS THREAT
Nearly two weeks ago, County Commissioner Craig Pope reported there were “zero cases” of coronavirus in Polk County, telling the Board of Commissioners that “we do not have any persons under monitoring or investigation.” Today the mayor of Independence said he will declare a city-wide emergency by this evening in preparation for COVID-19.
As the first case of this new coronavirus infection in Polk County continues to be followed by health authorities, “social distancing” is no longer an option, but a new normal. The Polk County case, which is believed to have been acquired within the community, has given rise to measures to slow transmission, such as school closures and event cancellations.
“The numbers will continue to increase,” predicted Mayor John McArdle at a special meeting of the Independence City Council this morning. The city plans to waive late fees for water bills and to cease disconnection for non-payment – a follow-up to MINET’s announcement yesterday that the municipal broadband is taking that approach for its customers.
City council and budget meetings, which are required by state law to be open to the public, will continue to be held -- but they likely will include call-in or internet options so attendance can be done remotely, said City Manager Tom Pessemier. A website by the city for updates on the situation has been set up, and Independence will use social media to publicize it.
The city is following guidelines from the Oregon Health Authority, Mr. Pessemier said. The Heritage Museum will be closed to the public, he added. The Independence Civic Center will be open and maintain its current hours. However, two city-information counters will be shuttered: The one on the second floor, where citizens go to ask questions, and the planning-and-building counter on the third floor, where zoning and construction inquiries are made. The police desk, on the second floor, will remain open, Mr. Pessemier said.
Other changes already could be seen this past week across town: A big bottle of sanitizer was provided along with mini-muffins when members of the M-I Chamber of Commerce visited Polk County Fire Station No. 1; Clerks at Roth’s Fresh Market warned that new stocks of hand sanitizer aren’t expected to be available any time soon. Some shelves emptied at Hi-School Pharmacy, as liquid soap in pump bottles disappeared by late afternoon.
KEEPING UP-TO-DATE ON COVID-19: A CHALLENGE
Getting new information on the coronavirus from state public health authorities has been a source of media complaint, prompting editorials this past week in both The Oregonian and The Salem Reporter.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and several academic centers have been offering online help to increase public understanding of COVID-19, spelling out what the symptoms look like and how easily the virus can be defeated by proper use of soap and water. Sometimes, symptoms can be so mild from COVID-19 that they seem nearly non-existent, observed Maria van Kerkhove PhD, head of emerging diseases for WHO. But transmission by people without symptoms is thought to be very uncommon. “We don’t believe they (infected people who are symptom-free) play a major role in transmission,” she said in a recent WHO video-cast. Those with symptoms are believed to be transmitters – dry cough is a common early, visible sign.
And close contact usually is required, although contaminated objects can spread the virus, too – but diluted bleach on surfaces kills or inactivates it. In fact, COVID-19 has been found to be “more sensitive” to good soap-and-water handwashing than some other viruses, according to Chandra Shekhar Bakshi DVM PhD of New York Medical College. And it’s relatively “big” so it’s “not going to travel long distances,” Dr. Bakshi explained during a broadcast at his college titled “Coronavirus: What We Know and What We Don’t.” Similar outreach efforts by other universities have suggested that more details about COVID-19 will begin to surface in the near future, leading to better understanding in the days to come.
COMMENTARY: Home-Made Portable Hand-Washer & Helpers
Keep calm and take precautions. This is the way this 60-something with a twisted ankle and an infected tooth is carrying on, amid an expected regional epidemic. I got my injured leg running around like a kid at recess, scooping up copies of The Independent, as soon as I heard the news of an infected person in Polk County. What you’ll see now in those plexiglass displays downtown are directions to the Trammart News website. And you’ll see something else, too – periodic pieces on this sudden but likely long-term preventive effort in the Linking Letter and on the Trammart News Facebook page.
Today I heard our mayor say he’d never seen anything like this in his lifetime. Well, this is one advantage of being older. I've seen it before and I reported on it: AIDS, SARS and bird flu. We're going to get through this in ways I’ve been privileged to witness in the past, with people who amazed me with their resourcefulness in the face of a health threat. And with regard to resourcefulness, I'm sending a shout-out to a young man who helped me in my failed hunt for hand sanitizer -- he suggested I just go “home-made.”
So, I put together my own hand-washing kit for travel in my car: small jar of strong liquid soap, clean folded paper towels, bottle of water, all tucked into a little carrying case, which I sprayed with Lysol. Maybe I’ll look funny to onlookers as I stand with frothy hands in a parking lot somewhere, dumping bottled water over fingers and palms to finish my protocol.
I asked Kristty Polanco MPH, who heads up the Polk County Health Department, about my portable hand-washing unit. Obviously, I put her in an uncomfortable spot – but I pointed out that hand-sanitizers seem to be going extinct. “Based on the CDC recommendation, soap and water for 20 seconds is preferred, so you are on track with your suggestions,” she stated. “Hand sanitizer is the second-best option for when washing is not available.” So, thank you, Ms. Polanco. I promise to sing the happy-birthday song twice while scrub-a-dubbing wherever I am. This is likely to make me an even funnier sight, of course. But I want to do what’s right. -end-
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