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Wednesday,  September 18 , 2024
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Photo of Wyatt Stayner

Stories by Wyatt Stayner

Columbian staff writer

Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer and Public Health Director, left, listens as Clark County Councilor Gary Medvigy speaks to the media in March 2020.

Clark County Council Chair Quiring O’Brien challenges scientific consensus on masks

Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer and Public Health Director, left, listens as Clark County Councilor Gary Medvigy speaks to the media in March 2020.

September 23, 2020, 10:33pm Clark County Health

As COVID-19 rates increase in Clark County, one of the county’s top officials pushed back against broad scientific consensus and challenged public health efforts promoting the use of face coverings to reduce the spread of the disease Read story

Kindergarten teacher Pam Younkin, center, leads students at the start of class at Sifton Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon. Transmission rates in Clark County are again too high for a widespread return to the classroom. While small groups like this are considered safe, state health guidelines recommend that schools with high rates of COVID-19 activity continue virtual learning.

Clark County COVID-19 activity surges, dashing hopes for fast return to classroom

Kindergarten teacher Pam Younkin, center, leads students at the start of class at Sifton Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon. Transmission rates in Clark County are again too high for a widespread return to the classroom. While small groups like this are considered safe, state health guidelines recommend that schools with high rates of COVID-19 activity continue virtual learning.

September 22, 2020, 12:16pm Clark County Health Free

Clark County's COVID-19 activity rate has drifted back into the "high" range, dashing hopes for a return to more in-person classes in area schools. Read story

Air quality dips in Clark County as Oregon wildfire smoke re-enters area

September 21, 2020, 12:54pm Clark County Health Free

Light winds brought wildfire smoke back to Clark County on Monday afternoon, degrading air quality in the area. Read story

A plane visible above Washougal makes its way down to Portland International Airport. An overnight storm leading into Friday made Vancouver&#039;s air quality significantly better.

Clark County health officials see COVID-19 ramifications from air pollution

A plane visible above Washougal makes its way down to Portland International Airport. An overnight storm leading into Friday made Vancouver&#039;s air quality significantly better.

September 18, 2020, 7:44pm Clark County Health

As hazardous air leaves Clark County and healthier air begins to settle in, the county’s highest-ranking health official has concerns about the COVID-19 ramifications that come from two weeks of heavy pollution. Read story

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Salmon Creek chiropractor’s office subject of complaints before COVID-19 exposure

(iStock.com)

September 17, 2020, 7:04pm Business

Three months before Bridge Chiropractic in Salmon Creek exposed more than 300 people to coronavirus, complaints started to trickle in to the state Department of Health. Read story

Thick wildfire smoke is seen overhead as letter carrier Jon Weinberg works in downtown Vancouver. Smoke levels continue to hover in the hazardous air quality range.

Clark County’s air quality is slowly improving

Thick wildfire smoke is seen overhead as letter carrier Jon Weinberg works in downtown Vancouver. Smoke levels continue to hover in the hazardous air quality range.

September 16, 2020, 6:38pm Clark County Health

As a pulmonologist at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Dr. Bhanu Patibandla sees firsthand what smoky air can do to people. Read story

Abs 2019-nCoV RNA virus - 3d rendered image on black background.

Chiropractic COVID-19 exposure might have spread virus to over 300 people

Abs 2019-nCoV RNA virus - 3d rendered image on black background.

September 16, 2020, 12:22pm Clark County Health Free

More than 300 people may have been exposed to COVID-19 last week at a Salmon Creek chiropractic office, Clark County Public Health announced Wednesday. Read story

FILE - This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated from a patient, in a laboratory in Fort Detrick, Md. Coronaviruses, including the newest one, are named for the spikes that cover their outer surface like a crown, or corona in Latin. Using those club-shaped spikes, the virus latches on to the outer wall of a human cell, invades it and replicates, creating viruses to hijack more cells.

Clark County clocks 23 new COVID-19 cases

FILE - This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated from a patient, in a laboratory in Fort Detrick, Md. Coronaviruses, including the newest one, are named for the spikes that cover their outer surface like a crown, or corona in Latin. Using those club-shaped spikes, the virus latches on to the outer wall of a human cell, invades it and replicates, creating viruses to hijack more cells.

September 16, 2020, 12:01pm Clark County Health Free

Clark County Public Health confirmed 23 new coronavirus cases Wednesday morning. Read story

Motorists traveling on Highway 99 navigate thick wildfire smoke as it continues to choke the region.

Clark County is worst in state as Washington sets record for hazardous air

Motorists traveling on Highway 99 navigate thick wildfire smoke as it continues to choke the region.

September 15, 2020, 7:33pm Clark County News

Washington has recorded its longest-running period with hazardous air quality in at least the last 14 years, and Clark County has registered the worst air quality in the state during a record-setting period. Read story

Vancouver resident Frank Schmit wears a mask while taking his dog, Ripley, a miniature schnauzer, for a stroll as thick wildfire smoke obscures the visibility of trees across the water at Frenchman' Bar Regional Park. Schmit said the fires and the smoke are just the latest in a list of unusual events that have happened in 2020. "It's been a hell of a year," he said.

Hazardous air quality continues

Vancouver resident Frank Schmit wears a mask while taking his dog, Ripley, a miniature schnauzer, for a stroll as thick wildfire smoke obscures the visibility of trees across the water at Frenchman' Bar Regional Park. Schmit said the fires and the smoke are just the latest in a list of unusual events that have happened in 2020. "It's been a hell of a year," he said.

September 14, 2020, 7:39pm Clark County Health

Clark County will likely have hazardous air quality until the end of the week, according to weather forecast modeling. Read story