29. Surrounded

We’ve been feeling pretty smug and safe in Wallowa County; 18 Covid-19 cases, one death, but... 

Umatilla County, our next but one neighbor to the west, is now the hot spot in the state, with over 2100 cases and 26 deaths as of yesterday. Oregon Health says that testing in that county is running at 18% positive. The big outbreaks have been at a WalMart Distribution Center and at several food processing plants, and the daily tick-ups of 50-100 cases has caused the Governor to send Umatilla County all the way back to “Go”—that’s before stage 1 reopening!

Umatilla is just the other side of Union County, which had the Covid spotlight for a time when a church chose to ignore guidelines and spawned over 200 infected parishioners. Union has settled down, but we share State Highway 82 with them, and they are linked by Interstate 84 with Pendleton, and Portland, Umatilla, Morrow (more outbreaks), and Multnomah counties. 

If you head east from La Grande, you’ll hit Idaho. Blaine County (Sun Valley) was an early Idaho leader, but they’ve given way to Boise (a four-hour drive from us), now with over 8000 Covid cases, and to Lake Coeur d’Alene, four hours north of us in Kootenai County, which counts over 1600 cases. 

At home, we’ve learned that four people who do not list Wallowa County as their home have tested positive for Covid-19 this week. They are not included in the Oregon Health Authority’s Wallowa County count, because the Health Authority keeps track of these things by “county of residence.”

So here we are, tucked against the Snake River on the east, counting license and car dealer plates from Idaho and Washington north and south, and from Florida, Arizona, Texas, California, Georgia, and other Covid spots across the land. Our state and Forest Service campgrounds, Wallowa Lake beaches, and outdoor restaurants are full. We wonder when a disease that doesn’t worry about home addresses will jump from tourist to local, or will ride in with one of our own now visiting friends and family in Texas or Idaho.

Wear my mask. Keep my distance. Stay outside. My mantras.

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