UO reports 3 new COVID-19 cases and hope for a football season

Jack Forrest

September 18, 2020

DAILY EMERALD

Football may be back in session by the end of the year, after Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority say they are willing to make an exemption — although Autzen would seat nowhere near it’s usual capacity. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The news moves pretty fast and cases of the coronavirus continue to rise in Oregon. The Daily Emerald summarized the top COVID-19 news. See what you might have missed:

Lane County

The total number of cases is currently 917 in Lane County, with 85 infectious and four in the hospital, according to Lane County Public Health. Lane County had 66 new cases since Monday, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The Latinx and Black communities continue to be disproportionately affected based on their percent of cases compared to their percent of the population in the county, according to LCPH.

Since last week, there have been two more deaths in Lane County, bringing the total to 14 deaths from the coronavirus, according to LCPH.

University of Oregon

UO reported one student case on Sept. 14 and two more cases on Sept. 17, one being a student and the other a staff member, according to UO’s COVID-19 case website. This brings the total case number to 54, though some may no longer be active.

The university is currently at a moderate alert level, meaning there is a “moderate number of cases, with most cases from a known source. Capacity in health care facilities is stable,” according to UO’s COVID-19 site.

Duck football may soon make a comeback after a spokesperson for Gov. Kate Brown’s office said college sports may resume with the right plan. “The universities have asked for an exemption to OHA’s sports guidance, just as Oregon’s professional sports team have been given. We have granted that request, and, under the new guidance, OHA must receive written plans for approval,” the governor’s spokesperson said. OHA currently does not allow for contact sports, even in practice, which is the restriction this exemption would lift.

The Pac-12 would join the Big Ten in entering late to the 2020 fall football season and is the last major conference to announce its intent to play. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California echoed a similar statement to Brown in that he would grant an exemption to California Pac-12 teams, with the right plan to return to the field and following state regulations for games played in the state.

Statewide

OHA reported 745 new cases and 12 new deaths since Monday, Sept. 14, bringing the state’s totals to 30,060 cases and 521 deaths.