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Wednesday, November 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Oregon officials announce new COVID-19 restrictions
By Sara Cline
Associated Press/Report for America
SALEM
(AP)
4
Following a record-breaking
day of COVID-19 cases in
Oregon, officials on Friday
announced new restrictions
that will be implemented in at
least five of the state9s coun-
ties as part of a two-week
pause on social activities.
The updated safety mea-
sures, which begin November
11, include halting visita-
tions to long-term care facili-
ties, reducing the capacity of
indoor dining at restaurants
to 50 people, encouraging
all businesses to mandate
work from home, and urg-
ing Oregonians not to gather
with people who do not live in
their household, but if they do
to limit it to just six people.
<Let me be clear, we can-
not allow this disease to con-
tinue to spread so rapidly in
our communities. Lives are at
stake,= Gov. Kate Brown said.
Currently, statewide safety
measures in Oregon include
banning indoor get-togethers
of more than 10 people, the
closure of restaurants and bars
by 10 p.m., a capacity limit
for restaurants and gyms set
at 100 people inside and mask
requirements for people five
years or older in indoor pub-
lic spaces, universities, office
spaces and outdoor areas
where physical distancing can
not be maintained.
Under the updated mea-
sures, indoor dining at res-
taurants along with other
indoor activity facilities such
as gyms, fitness organiza-
tions, bowling alleys, ice
rinks, indoor sports, pools and
museums will all be reduced
to a 50 person capacity.
Get-togethers with people
should also be limited to six
people, the health author-
ity said. If people have mul-
tiple get-togethers, which
is discouraged, it should be
the same social circle of six
people.
These pause measures
will be in effect through
November 25 for Malheur,
Marion, Multnomah, Jackson
and Umatilla counties.
The mayor of Portland,
which is located in Multnomah
County, applauded the gover-
nor for implementing the two-
week restrictions.
<The best defense we
have is prevention. We must
all do our part to stop the
spread of the virus from per-
son to person. We all want to
spend more time with friends
and family, especially as the
holiday season approaches,=
said Ted Wheeler. <To ensure
we9re able to gather with
friends sooner rather than
later, we all need to heed the
Governor9s direction to mini-
mize our indoor gatherings
and limit our social interac-
tions over the next few weeks.
This is the right step.
Five additional counties
4 Washington, Baker, Union,
Clackamas and Linn 4 are
close to the COVID-19
thresholds that would neces-
sitate adding them to the
two-week pause. The Oregon
Health Authority will deter-
mine Monday if any of these
counties will be added.
The threshold for coun-
ties being added to the two-
week pause is counties with a
case rate above 200 cases per
100,000 people over a two-
week period, or more than 60
cases over a two-week period
for counties with less than
30,000 people.
<This two week pause
is really a wakeup call for
everyone I think, to show
them just how serious the sit-
uation is right now,< Charles
Boyle, a spokesperson for the
governor9s office, said. <This
is the step before we need to
consider additional closures.=
Brown said if the COVID-
19 situation does not improve
in Oregon then <additional
closures may be imminent= in
two weeks.
The Oregon Health
Authority reported 805 new
confirmed COVID-19 cases
Thursday, breaking the
state9s previous daily record
of 600. In addition, the most
recent percentage of positive
COVID-19 tests in the state
was 8.4 percent.
<It is alarming that recent
high case rates are not linked
to any specific outbreaks,
but rather reflective of spo-
radic community spread,=
Brown said. <We are seeing
in real time how this virus
can quickly snowball out of
control.
On Friday, the health
authority reported 769 new
cases, increasing the num-
ber of cases in the state since
the start of the pandemic to
48,608. The death toll is 716.
Officials say that the
<unprecedented= numbers
suggest that Oregonians are
circulating more in their com-
munities, letting their guard
down and attending more
indoor social gatherings.
Rachel Banks, the health
authority9s new public health
director, cited recent incidents
of transmission. A Halloween
party that led to 14 infec-
tions and then a workplace
outbreak. A family gathering
where nine people became
infected and then the disease
spread into two long-term
care facilities, impacting 24
people and killing one.
In addition health experts
have expressed concerns
about hospitals nearing
capacity.
Currently, there are 217
COVID-19 patients hospital-
ized in Oregon, a record num-
ber according to the Oregon
Health Authority9s dashboard.
The previous record, outside
the month of November, was
168 patients in July.
<I do not want to take fur-
ther actions to stop the spread
of COVID-19 because I know
it will have a devastating
impact on our businesses,=
Brown said. <But, I abso-
lutely will, if necessary, to
protect the health and safety
of Oregonians.=
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