Coronavirus

SALEM — Nearly all COVID-19 restrictions could be lifted in as early as just over two weeks, Gov. Kate Brown said Friday, June 4. Read more

The Oregon Health Authority has reported a new case of COVID-19 in Wallowa County each of the last two days, with a case Tuesday, June 1, and Wednesday, June 2, bringing the overall total in the county to 189. They are the first cases reported in close to two weeks. The last day a case had b… Read more

ENTERPRISE — Two major announcements last week — one from the state level and one at the federal level — seek to move toward opening life up more and lift more COVID-19 restrictions. Read more

The recent increase of COVID-19 cases in Wallowa County has slowed again. Read more

Gov Kate Brown laid out some basic math on Tuesday for Oregon's way out of pandemic restrictions: Get 70% of adult residents at least one shot of vaccine and "normalcy" can start to return as early as next month. Read more

ENTERPRISE — Two cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wallowa County by the Oregon Health Authority over the weekend, bringing the countywide total to 182 since the start of the pandemic last year. Read more

ENTERPRISE — There are two more COVID-19 cases in Wallowa County, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday, May 6. That brings the total number of cases in the county to 180, and 20 cases in the past 10 days.  Read more

Wallowa County had two more cases of COVID-19, the Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday, May 5, raising the overall total since the start of the pandemic to 178. There have been 18 cases reported in the county in the last nine days. Read more

ENTERPRISE — Fifteen new COVID-19 cases in five days. Read more

The Oregon Health Authority reported three more cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County on Thursday, April 29, raising the total in the pandemic to 168 and the total in the last three days to eight. The county also had a reported three cases Wednesday and two on Tuesday.  Read more

There were three new cases of COVID-19 reported in Wallowa County on Wednesday, April 28, the highest total of COVID cases in one day in roughly two months.  Read more

ENTERPRISE — The American Rescue Plan signed last month by President Biden provided a major financial boost for community health centers. Read more

Oregon has "paused" using the Johnson & Johnson one-shot COVID-19 vaccine even though none of six newly reported severe reactions to the vaccine occurred in the state, health officials said Tuesday, April 13. Read more

WALLOWA — COVID-19 has again postponed the annual Tamkaliks Celebration. Read more

SALEM — The Oregon Health Authority has asked all of the state’s vaccine providers to immediately stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after an announcement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Federal Drug Administration early Tuesday, April 13. Read more

MISSION — With more doses than appointments, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is once again expanding its eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more

ENTERPRISE — The Wallowa County Health Care District has given more 2,100 first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and has fully vaccinated close to 1,500 individuals in the county, Wallowa Memorial Hospital Communications Director Brooke Pace said. Read more

SALEM — All Oregonians age 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 19, a week earlier than the previous earliest date, Gov. Kate Brown said Tuesday. Read more

SALEM — All adults in Oregon will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations as of May 1 under a binding order from the Biden administration. Read more

SALEM — In yet another about face, the state announced Monday, March 22, that it would drastically reduce the amount of spacing required for students going back to school, to align with new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more

Wallowa County had its first case of COVID-19 in nearly two weeks reported by the Oregon Health Authority Thursday, March 18, moving the total since the start of the pandemic to 145. Read more

SALEM — Oregon would need up to double the doses of COVID-19 vaccine it currently receives to fulfill President Joe Biden’s seven-week sprint to allow all adults to be offered inoculation, Oregon health officials said Friday, March 12. Read more

Counties that might fall back into the state's most restrictive extreme risk level for COVID-19 spread will be given a two-week grace period on heightened restrictions, Gov. Kate Brown announced Thursday. Read more

A fifth Wallowa County resident has died with COVID-19. Read more

Wallowa's first football game, scheduled originally for this weekend against Elgin, has been canceled, Wallowa Athletic Director Mitch Frye said Wednesday, March 3. Read more

Every Oregon county will receive 100 doses this week of the new Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine that President Joe Biden said Tuesday is a key part of vaccinating all Americans before summer. Read more

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown will release the final list of priority groups for the COVID-19 vaccine at a press conference today. Officials with the governor's office say the eligibility and maximum target date will be: Read more

A steep drop in COVID-19 infections nationwide was reflected Tuesday, Feb. 23, with 16 Oregon counties improving their infection risk levels. Read more

Wallowa County has surpassed 140 total cases of COVID-19 as the Oregon Health Authority reported two new cases in the county on Friday, Feb. 19, which puts the count at 141 — with 39 of them coming in the month of February. Read more

SALEM — Most Oregon counties would maintain or improve their COVID-19 risk rating next week according to preliminary data from the Oregon Health Authority. Read more

Wallowa County had two new cases of COVID-19 in the Wednesday, Feb. 17, report from the Oregon Health Authority, which brings the overall total in the county to 139 since the start of the pandemic. There have been 37 cases in the month of February. The rate of infection in the county is now … Read more

There were three new cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County, the Oregon Health Authority reported on Tuesday, Feb. 16, which brought the overall total of cases to 137. It was the first reported cases since Saturday, when once case came in, according to the OHA. Read more

Wallowa County had two more confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in the Friday, Feb. 12 update from the Oregon Health Authority, putting the overall count up to 133 cases, which is closing in on 2% of the county's population. Thirty-three of those cases have been reported in the last two weeks, i… Read more

Wallowa County has four new cases of COVID-19, according to the latest report from the Oregon Health Authority on Thursday, Feb. 11, raising the county's overall total to 131. The state reported 621 new cases and 12 new deaths attributed to the virus. Read more

While the number of new COVID-19 cases statewide has been on the decline in recent weeks, Wallowa County is moving in the opposite direction. Read more

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County has had a fourth death related to COVID-19 reported by the Oregon Health Authority. Read more

ENTERPRISE — A free webinar to bring awareness regarding restaurant challenges, issues and resources, and to focus on marketing a restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic is being offered at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, by the Blue Mountain Community College Small Business Development Center, in… Read more

Wallowa County had its highest one-day total of new COVID-19 cases in more than four months when the Oregon Health Authority on Thursday, Feb. 4, reported five cases among the 730 statewide. It raises the overall total of cases in the county to 113. Read more

For the second day in a row, Oregon Health Authority reported three new cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County Wednesday, Feb. 3, which raised the total number of cases in the county to 108. There have been eight cases in the last three reports from OHA, and 31 cases since the start of 2021. Read more

Face masks and social distancing are likely to remain a fixture of the shopping and working experience for some time, according to the state's employee safety department. Read more

ENTERPRISE — The Paycheck Protection Program that helped businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has reopened the program, according to a press release from the federal Small Business Administration. Read more

The Oregon Health Authority reported three new cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County on Tuesday, Feb. 2, to bring the total in the county since the start of the pandemic to 105. There have been five cases in the last two reports from OHA. Read more

Oregon Health Authority reported two more cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County on Monday, Feb. 1, to raise the case total in the county to 102. Read more

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday, Jan. 28, ordered 32,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines redirected to the Portland area instead of going to other parts of the state. Read more

Wallowa County has been one of the regions of the state least-hit by COVID-19, but late Tuesday, Jan. 26, Oregon Health Authority reported one more case of the coronavirus, which is the 100th in the county since the start of the pandemic last year.  Read more

There was one new case of COVID-19 in Wallowa County on Friday, Jan. 22, as reported by the Oregon Health Authority, the third day in a row the county has had one new case. The county is at 99 total cases since the start of the pandemic. Read more

SALEM — School districts around the state have been waiting on the Tuesday, Jan. 19, update to Oregon’s “Ready Schools, Safe Learners” guidance. Read more

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County's plan — as well as the plan of the rest of Oregon — to get vaccinations to seniors next week has undergone a major shift. Read more

Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wallowa County by the Oregon Health Authority Friday, Jan. 15, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic 10 months ago to 94.  Read more

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown tweeted Friday morning, Jan. 15, that the state won't be receiving an "increased shipment of vaccines" next week from the national stockpile as it anticipated earlier this week, potentially putting a damper on plans to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens a… Read more

ENTERPRISE — The most susceptible members of the general public when it comes to fending off COVID-19 will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine next week. Read more

Wallowa County had its highest one-day total of new COVID-19 cases in more than two months on Sunday, Jan. 10, when Oregon Health Authority reported four new cases of the disease in the county. That brings the overall total since the start of the pandemic to 92. Read more

There were two more cases of COVID-19 reported in Wallowa County Saturday, Jan. 9, by the Oregon Health Authority, putting the overall total since the start of the pandemic at 88.  Read more

There were two new cases of COVID-19 in Wallowa County as reported by the Oregon Health Authority on Thursday, Jan. 7, marking the third day in a row OHA has noted two cases in the county. The number of overall cases in Wallowa County since the start of the pandemic now stands at 86.  Read more

For the second day in a row, the Oregon Health Authority reported a new case of COVID-19 in Wallowa County, moving the county's total as of Saturday, Jan. 2, to 78 since the start of the pandemic.  Read more

The first COVID-19 update of 2021 on Friday, Jan. 1, from the Oregon Health Authority showed 1,446 more new cases of the coronavirus, including one in Wallowa County. The new case brings the county's total since the start of the pandemic to 77, and the state's total now sits at 115,339.  Read more

ENTERPRISE — The Oregon Health Authority announced in a press release a worker at Wallowa Memorial Hospital suffered a severe allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine. Read more

With the support of Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, Estacada Mayor Sean Drinkwine, Troutdale Mayor-elect Randy Lauer and Gresham City Councilor-elect Sue Piazza, among others, multiple metro area businesses plan to open to customers indoors on Friday, Jan. 1. The protest is being called “Open Oregon” and the goal is to highlight how brutal the state-mandated closures have been. Supporters are heralding it as an exercise of First Amendment rights. Read more

SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown abruptly announced new rules for school reopenings on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 23, making former directives optional and allowing districts to open if they follow safety precautions. Read more

There were two new cases of COVID-19 reported in Wallowa County — one Tuesday, Dec. 15 and one Wednesday, Dec. 16 — but no cases Thursday. The total in Wallowa County — one of six counties in the state in Gov. Kate Brown's low-risk range — is at 76.  Read more

The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in Oregon on Wednesday, beginning a process that won't likely be finished until summer. Read more

Most of Oregon will greet the holiday season and New Year's Eve as "extreme risk" locations requiring tight COVID-19 limits on gatherings, dining and activities. Read more

Small businesses in Oregon struggling with a drop in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive some tax relief, Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday. Read more

After weeks of negotiations with lawmakers, Gov. Kate Brown announced a one-day special session of the Legislature will be held Monday, Dec. 21, to deal with COVID-19 related issues. Read more

SALEM — The first of millions of expected vaccine doses needed to extinguish the COVID-19 virus arrived in Oregon on Monday, starting a process that could last into fall 2021. Read more

ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County reported one new case of COVID-19 Saturday, Dec. 12, but no new cases Sunday, placing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic at 74, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Read more

SALEM — Despite the imminent arrival of the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, Oregon will likely have thousands more killed and tens of thousands infected before the mass majority of residents can be vaccinated, state officials said Friday, Dec. 11. Read more

Wallowa County had its first reported case of COVID-19 in eight days, as a single case reported Thursday, Dec. 10, raised the county's overall total to 73 cases, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Read more