Coronavirus cases in Oregon, Washington outpace rise in national case counts
The rise in the number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in Oregon and Washington is currently outpacing the national average, causing an increase in deaths and hospitalizations in both states.
Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary of the Department of Health, answers questions from reporters, as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (rear), listens, during a news conference outside of the governor s mansion on the Capitol campus Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)
Across the United States, the number of daily cases has increased from about 56,000 in mid-March to just under 72,000 now, an increase of about 29 percent. In Oregon, however, the average number of daily cases had dropped to less than 250 and now stands at 590, a 136 percent increase. Similarly in Washington, cases have risen from a low point of 650 per day to more than 1,200, an 86 percent increase.
Washington state just out California’d California, some 800,000 Subarus will soon need to visit home, and Ford just added a new exec that will do lobbyist-type things but isn’t
technically a lobbyist. All that and more in this TGIF edition of The Morning Shift for April 16, 2021.
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1st Gear: Washington State Just Got Real
Washington has passed a bill banning the sale of new gas-powered cars in the state beginning in 2030. That’s five years earlier than California and Massachusetts, meaning Washington’s ban will kick in the soonest of any state’s at the moment. It applies to the registration of any vehicle model year 2030 or newer, so importing a new gas -powered car sold in other states won’t be permitted, either.
Washington has elected to become the first slice of America to ban the internal combustion motor, and we don’t just mean new sales. The Pacific state passed a bill on Thursday that would make the registration of gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles from the 2030 model year onwards illegal leaving residents with the option to purchase […]
There would be restrictions only on passenger cars, not heavy-duty trucks.
The date is more aggressive than California s 2035 goal for phasing out combustion-car sales.
Washington state lawmakers passed a bill on Thursday setting a target to stop sales of gasoline-fueled vehicles there beginning in 2030, five years sooner than California.
The target is not a firm mandate and is contingent on the state adopting a tax on vehicle miles traveled, a measure to help pay for new transportation infrastructure, according to the text of the bill.
The move by the Pacific Northwest state comes as efforts to boost adoption of electric vehicles are accelerating over concerns about fossil fuels contribution to climate change.