Some Oregon counties will reopen as early as May 15, Gov. Kate Brown confirmed today—so long as they can verify they’re complying with certain guidelines.
Within the regions able to open, bars, restaurants, hair salons and gyms would be able to open their doors. Statewide, childcare services can operate by May 15, as well as some retail stores like malls and boutiques. Brown will release a separate set of guidelines for summer schools and camps.
Deschutes County commissioners approved their proposal for the governor at their board meeting on Wednesday, but the commissioners are still working out some kinks regarding contact tracing and shelter for people without homes. Counties are being asked to submit their plans to the governor by tomorrow for her review, before she decides which counties can indeed reopen May 15.
It is been two months since the Oregon Health Authority reported the first COVID-positive case in the state. Today, Oregon has the fourth-lowest COVID-19 infection rate in the U.S. and the eighth-lowest death rate, according to Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen.
Deschutes County is required to have 30 contact tracers ready to work before reopening, and it currently has only six.
“Today, thanks to millions of Oregonians following the strict social distancing guidelines I put in place, I am happy to say that these sacrifices have prevented as many as 70,000 COVID-19 infections and 1,500 hospitalizations in Oregon,” said Gov. Kate Brown at a press conference on Thursday.
The State has finalized a testing and contact tracing strategy and is moving quickly to support counties in their efforts to create a robust system to isolate and track new cases. Deschutes County is required to have 30 contact tracers ready to work before reopening, and it currently has only six. The goal is to contact 90% of the people that an infected person has come into contact with, within 24 hours of their diagnosis.
“As we reopen parts of our economy, we know and expect that there may be an uptick in new coronavirus cases,” Brown said.
Even with the gentle phase-in for restaurants, yoga studios and small social gatherings, life in Oregon will not be returning to normal. Physical distancing, constant hand washing, and face masks are the new reality Oregonians will live with until a vaccine is publicly available, Brown said.
Rural counties first?
Some counties will qualify to enter phase one reopening by May 15, but the counties must have a plan and meet certain prerequisites before the governor will grant approval. The counties that have the best shot at reopening are those with a rural population and a small number of reported cases.
Deschutes County is something of a borderland—the classic urban-rural divide— lying at the gateway to a number of eastern counties, where there are few to no COVID-19 cases. Yet Deschutes County itself has the sixth-highest number (81, as of Thursday) of cases in the state.
Deschutes County has been designated as part of Region Seven by the Oregon Health Authority along with Jefferson, Crook, Klamath and Lake counties. The OHA said Wednesday that this region has met some initial metrics for reopening such as a decline in cases and increased testing capacity.
Thursday’s press conference was the first time Brown released the final details of phase one to the public, though county commissioners have been reviewing the draft for weeks to prepare their applications to re-open.
Phase one business guidelines will require strict safety precautions: staff will be required to wear face masks, sanitize the workplace, enforce physical distancing and limit the number of people allowed inside at one time.
Phase one business guidelines will require strict safety precautions: staff will be required to wear face masks, sanitize the workplace, enforce physical distancing and limit the number of people allowed inside at one time.
Counties will be required to remain in the first phase for 21 days; then, counties can progress to fewer restrictions if there is no significant uptick in new COVID-19 cases. Gov. Brown has not confirmed the details of the next phase but drafts suggest phase two could include gatherings of up to 100 people, more businesses reopening, work in office settings and some visitation at facilities like nursing homes.
The final phase will open large events—but it is unlikely that any part of the state will enter this phase until a vaccine is available. Brown ordered the cancellation of all public gatherings such as concerts, festivals, sports events and conventions through the end of September.
Even for the businesses that can reopen in the coming weeks, the operating requirements may present a challenge. Restaurants must ensure that parties dining inside remain 6 feet apart. People operating barbershops and spas will be required to screen their clients over the phone for symptoms of COVID-19. The state will also encourage (but not require) temperature checks before beginning the appointment.
Priorities of Deschutes County Commissioners
Deschutes County commissioners Patti Adair, Anthony DeBone and Phil Henderson want Gov. Brown to open all local businesses—not just the ones she’s already outlined for counties in phase one. Commissioner Adair said she wanted churches open as soon as possible because she considers them essential businesses.
The county is also required by Brown to establish a safe, semi-permanent sanctuary for people without homes to isolate if they get infected or if they are vulnerable to infection. The county qualifies for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to rent a motel block for this purpose. NeighborImpact is currently negotiating a contract with a local motel and will eventually be charged with managing the facility and providing support to the people who need quarantine or isolation.
“If we need to put someone that is unhoused and COVID positive [in isolation], this provides us with an option to do that,” explained Nathan Garibay, the emergency manager for the county. “This is a requirement or a prerequisite under the governor’s reopening plan… So this allows us to also best serve members of our community and try to limit the spread of the infection.”
The county will be reimbursed for this expense by NeighborImpact, who will eventually get reimbursed from FEMA. But it order for this to work, the county has to be a willing partner and sign the order. This will also allow the county to share in the potential liability of serving people with COVID-19 in a privately owned hotel. The commissioners wanted to view the county’s agreement with NeighborImpact.
The commissioners had declined to sign the order at the time of publication.
This article appears in Mar 25 – May 20, 2020.
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What about schools? No mention of that, NONE! Not a surprise of this blue state with one of the worst education levels in the country, but then again that would require our educators to work. I’m sure their union would fight that tooth and nail.
Uneducated are controllable, the goal of a big government liberal leaning society. Ironically they call the other side deplorable and uneducated, HYPOCRITES!
“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
Reopening schools is a laudable goal but needs to be based on sound health considerations. Mr. Penya’s attempt to politicize the discussion is unwarranted and in opposition to the positive trends in improving graduation rates across the state.
Here’s a DOE website containing a summary webinar and tabulated statistics regarding graduation and completion rates in Oregon. Take a look, Mr. Penya.
https://www.oregon.gov/ode/reports-and-dat…
I agree with sentiment of the quote by Malcolm X and look forward to the time when students can return to a safe environment in which to prepare.
I will be voting against Deschutes County commissioners Patti Adair, Anthony DeBone and Phil Henderson in the next election. Their actions throughout this pandemic have been putting the lives of the local community (including our healthcare workers) at risk. Not following the state guidelines for safely opening businesses is just another example of their reckless behavior.
A step approach to opening up Deschutes County is strategic, and will ensure that our local healthcare providers will be able to handle the increase in cases (as soon as businesses open, an increase will happen). Opening up “everything“ could very easily sky rocket the hospital admission rates. This demonstrates a clear disregard for human lives and healthcare worker safety.
Churches are not essential. They do not provide food, water, shelter or healthcare. There have been numerous reports across the country of massive infections being traced to church gatherings. The churches providing services to those in need within the local community are already doing so. If the congregation needs to hear their pastor, they can do so online while keeping themselves and their loved ones safe.
I understand people want to get back to normal. It is a scary time. It can be frustrating when finances are involved. But if we open too soon, we will not only have a huge spike in infection rates (look at the Spanish Flu), we will also likely have to shut everything down again. The second time around those who need to claim unemployment may not have the extra COVID payment. Which is one aspect making unemployment tenable for local families. There are many aspects that need to be considered before we open up this county. I hope the commissioners take this all into consideration before making catastrophic decisions.
Frank,
I appreciate the trend, but the fact is Oregon is near the bottom for high school graduation. The only reason it is even trending is because these lazy teachers are only making it easier, not teaching. I have 2 high school students it is deplorable the low level that the schools have gone to to just attempt to raise graduation rates.
Talk about sound health considerations, well it has to be politicized. Oregon is a blue state and our government officials simply are NOT looking at the data. Of the 121 deaths, 115 are senior citizens and ZERO are school age children. The kids should have been back in school weeks ago, but again the laziness of our unionized teachers with no accountability is VERY evident. Get back to work, it is safe. Of all essential jobs teaching should be at the top, not liquor stores and weed dispensaries.
To think there isn’t a political spin to this is having your head in the sand! Its an election year with an epic battle of govs vs potus! If it wasn’t political, we would have done the right thing from the get go and quarantined the old and vulnerable while practicing soc dis. Instead we quarantine healthy people, shutdown the entire economy, and suspend nurses from work? Hmmm. C’mon yall!
This is a politically driven round of Russian roulette asking the public to serve as guinea pigs in these “openings”.
This is Darwinism at its finest. Go ahead and pull the trigger on your own friends and family.
However, if you do, when hospitals are overwhelmed and you or your loved can’t get medical care, realize that you’re impatience killed them.
The rest of us will trade “essential” haircuts, massages and souvenir shopping
in exchange for human lives.
Btw, if you hate living in a “blue” state as you call it, move.
Karen, As a good blue snowflake of course you bring hate into the conversation. Seems that is all the libs do nowadays, hate, lie, repeat. BTW, where are the overwhelmed hospitals and dead friends and family in Oregon that you speak of? Look at the data, most all deaths are senior citizens with pre-existing conditions. Numbers don’t lie, only the dems in power here in Oregon and the fools that voted for them. But, I guess facts don’t fit the liberal agenda.
Lou
I find it ironic that you think the schools and teachers are doing such a poor job and, yet, you can’t wait to be able to send your kids back.
Bob, I think just you won the stupid post of the day! That would be like saying, that road has lots of potholes. Let’s not try to fix it. Or, we have a world pandemic. We don’t need to look for a vaccine. Get the point? A key element to the success of our future society currently sucks and is broken, but it doesn’t mean we give up. Make schools great again! Cut the lazy, hold them accountable. If a students fail, teachers should be fired. How about get back to work!
Absolutely! Yes Bend is ready to be opened, as should all of Oregon, as should the whole country, and as should the whole entire world. I mean how is it that as a collective conscience the world has become so incredibly stupid so quickly? Like locking yourself up in your house for two months, closing your business or going out of work, going bankrupt, cutting yourself off to natural elements such as vitamin D (essential to human health), refusing to get together with friends and loved ones, and wearing a ridiculous looking mask all because of a 0.1 – 0.3% death rate is just a splendid way to live! Give me a break!
All this lockdown is for is so our government and governments around the world can gain their totalitarian control over our lives and enslave is with their plan. People like Bill Gates, who has openly bragged about limiting the worlds population with vaccines, has his name written all over this thing, and likely plans to roll out mandatory vaccinations for all. And god knows what is in those vaccines. To be honest, at this point if you are following the mainstream narrative by sitting inside your house, telling others to ‘social distance,’ wearing your masks and gloves, and squirting hand sanitizer on your hands a million times a day all while not questioning what you are being told, I hate to say it but you are being led to slaughter. As brutal as it sounds, it’s the truth, and you may wake up one day and come to realize that all your freedoms and civil liberties have been taken because you chose to blindly follow those who lied….And please Source, Mainstream Media, and fellow human beings, please provide me with Scientific evidence that isn’t from the Mainstream News that mask wearing and social distancing 6 apart from each other is actually effective and makes any legitimate sense.
If you have read this far into my comment, I would highly encourage everyone one of you to do some deeper research into what is actually going on with this ‘lockdown’ and what it can mean for our futures. Because following and listening to people in our government and the media, who have a horrible track record of lying to our faces, isn’t going to save any one of us.
Cheers, Godbless
Dear Lou,
It’s okay that you are scared of the pandemic and that the fear is causing you to lash out at others and be angry.
Intentionally sown chaos through misinformation and lack of critical thinking ability makes it difficult for many people to clearly understand the gravity of the situation.
Maybe try to get away from trolling and get some exercise and sunlight to help with your mental health right now.
Btw, the virus isn’t political and doesn’t care if you feel wearing a mask looks silly or if you don’t believe it’s dangerous.
If you die, you will look even sillier.
However, if you kill someone by passing it along, you will be a murderer.
Think about that.
What if you passed it to your daughter, son, wife, husband, mother, father or friend and it kills them?
.
Death rate Karen. You are ignoring that, most likely because it doesn’t fit the agenda. Case and point.
We went downtown Friday to pick up food prepared by Zydeco. It simply wasn’t safe because of the number of people milling in the streets in groups much larger than the maximum 25 members. Most were younger than 50 and no one was social distancing or wearing masks.
That said, I have real concerns about not having a management and enforcement plan as part of a county application process. What I experienced in Bend’s downtown day of opening was no enforcement for public health and safety violations outlined in the Governor’s County application obligations.
When I look at system’s issues, like this one – no enforcement, there is obvious cause and effect. The ramifications will be known in 21 days.
Other ramifications for parents include whether kids will be in school this fall. Hopefully parents will be back to work by then. Who will take care of their children? When irresponsible citizens tip the scale the ramifications continue. I saw a political sign last evening on the news that said, “selfish an proud of it.” Enforcement is then necessary.
If schools remain closed because of local spikes due to no enforcement and the selfish public disregard for COVID public safety, then we have another problem with what happens to Juniors in highschool now? How will that effect these students? It seems clear that opening colleges for 2020 highschool graduates will be iffy. So their applications are being carried over for another year. Seems fair.
If you have ever been in the position of analyzing industrial bottlenecks … this is one. Lack of alleged enforcement in Deschutes county communities and the Bend Police department specifically results in what? Not being with your loved one if they succumb results in what? Not being able to visit elderly relatives in assisted living results in what? This is a much bigger picture than not getting a safe restaurant menu item from a downtown restaurant we love to order from.
We certainly will not be returning for any reason to downtown Bend until we are convinced it is safe to do so. What we saw opening night wasn’t safe.
Perhaps the Bend down towner’s association will hire security guards to break up groups larger than 25. In my view, that a replication of services when our taxes pay for Bend Police in the general fund.
Perhaps the Old Mill District will have improved options. They do have their security guards in place. Not sure about you, but the enforcement of health, education and welfare safety considerations are important to me and to the continuation of a civil society.