8A — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020
STATE/NATION
State releases guidelines for reopening schools in fall
Cohorts, social distancing among
requirements; masks required for staff,
only recommended for students
By Jackson Hogan
EO Media Group
SALEM — This fall,
Oregon’s K-12 students may
fi nally get to return to their
classrooms for the fi rst time
in half a year, based on new
state safety guidelines. But
school won’t look the same
as it did before COVID-19.
New behaviors and rit-
uals will need to be learned:
Desks will be 6 feet apart.
Face coverings will be
required for most school
staff. Elementary students
won’t share glue sticks.
“There is no doubt this
spring was hard on stu-
dents, families and edu-
cators,” said a statement
signed by state education
and health directors Colt
Gill and Pat Allen. “And
yet, we believe returning to
school, the planning it will
require, and the shifts in
adult and student behavior
it will require will be even
more diffi cult.”
Much of the state’s long
list of reopening require-
ments and recommenda-
tions fall under a few ideals:
Keep students and staff
at a distance from each
other, wipe down and sani-
tize objects frequently, and
make sure everyone washes
their hands often.
Schools will be required
to keep students in iso-
lated groups, or cohorts,
whenever possible. Cohorts
must allow for at least 35
square feet per person,
including staff, and they’ll
be assigned certain spaces
only for their use. That
includes bathrooms as well
as classrooms, according to
the state.
The state guidelines
admit keeping students in
rigid cohorts is harder in
middle and high schools —
where students see multiple
teachers in a day — but
the state still recommends
that all schools make plans
to reduce mixing student
cohorts.
School schedules will
also be modifi ed to keep
as few students in hall-
ways and shared spaces as
possible.
Furthermore, just about
every object in schools
that students touch, from
desks to school bus seats
to library books, should
be sanitized frequently,
according to the state.
Face masks and cover-
ings will be required for
all staff who are regularly
within 6 feet of other people
in school, bus drivers, staff
who prepare and/or serve
meals, and school visi-
tors. Front offi ce staff will
be required to wear larger,
plastic face shields, or be
behind a plastic barrier.
Students will not be
required to wear face masks
— although it is recom-
mended, particularly for
middle and high school stu-
dents, who will have to mix
with other students more
often — and schools must
continue to educate students
who don’t wear masks.
Frequent hand washing
will be required before
eating meals. Elementary
students will be required
to wash their hands before
and after using playground
equipment.
N.C. speedway shut down by
governor after holding races in protest
Cases at seafood plant cause spike
in Oregon’s COVID-19 numbers
Thousands
attended events
before governor
stepped in
By Sara Cline
Associated Press
By Gary Robertson
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — The
administration of North
Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper
has ordered the closure
of a small stock-car track
that’s allowed large crowds
to gather repeatedly for
weekend races, declaring it
an “imminent hazard” for
the spread of COVID-19.
The order says Ace
Speedway in Alamance
County, 65 miles north-
west of Raleigh, is violating
the governor’s executive
order limiting outside mass
assemblies to 25 people.
Media outlets have
reported crowds at the
speedway exceeding 2,000
people, including a gath-
ering even after the Dem-
ocratic governor’s offi ce
wrote a letter stating the
speedway’s actions were
in “open defi ance” of the
health restrictions. Media
reports indicated many
attendees at three weekend
races since late May sat
Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP
In this May 23 photo, race fans pray at a racetrack near
Elon, N.C. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administra-
tion has ordered closed the small stock-car track that’s al-
lowed large crowds to gather repeatedly for weekend rac-
es. Offi cials said Ace Speedway in Alamance County is an
“imminent hazard” for the virus’ spread and can’t reopen
unless it creates a safety plan to keep fans away.
and stood near each other,
and few wore masks.
The action came after
Alamance County Sheriff
Terry Johnson announced
on Monday he wouldn’t
issue a misdemeanor cita-
tion to the speedway. He
questioned the legality of
Cooper’s restrictions and
said local tracks elsewhere
weren’t being punished for
opening. Cooper had said
he would act if Alamance
County offi cials wouldn’t.
The speedway appeared
to attempt to bypass the
governor’s rules last Sat-
urday by suggesting the
gathering was protected
by a First Amendment
exemption. A placard at the
speedway read: “This event
is held in peaceful protest
of injustice and inequality
everywhere.”
Demonstrations had
occurred in major cities
over the past 10 days after
the death of George Floyd
while in Minnesota police
custody.
SALEM — Newport
has been a blip on the radar
when it comes to con-
fi rmed coronavirus cases
in Oregon. Until Sunday.
“Up until this point the
pandemic has been dis-
tant. We have watched it
unfold in other communi-
ties around the world, but
not in our own,” Kaety
Jacobson, chair of the
Lincoln County Board
of Commissioners, said
during a news conference
Monday. “In the last 48
hours that has changed. We
now have a large outbreak
in our community.”
More than 120 workers
at Pacifi c Seafood, a New-
port seafood plant, have
tested positive for the
virus, the company said
Sunday.
“This county has done
really well over the last
three months,” said David
Long, the health offi cer
for Lincoln County Public
Health. “I think many of
us felt that it was never
really going to hit us here
and so, waking up yes-
terday and hearing the
news about 124 cases at
Pacifi c Seafood was a
shock to many of us.”
The fi rst signs of a pos-
sible outbreak came June
2, when Pacifi c Seafood
had its fi rst positive case.
The next day, there were
additional confi rmed cases.
By Sunday, 376 workers
had been tested. Out of
those tested, 53 employees
and 71 locally-based
contractors tested posi-
tive, according to Pacifi c
Seafood.
About 95% were
asymptomatic, state offi -
cials said.
The outbreak contrib-
uted to Oregon’s highest
case total in a single day as
the state reported 146 cases
Sunday.
Health offi cials through
Tuesday reported about
5,000 positive cases, with
169 deaths.
Pacifi c Seafood, which
manages all parts of the
supply chain from har-
vesting and fi shing to pro-
cessing, and distribution
of seafood, beef, pork and
poultry, has since sus-
pended all operations.
Lincoln County
Public Health offi cials
are working on contact
tracing and urging people
who know they have come
in contact with someone
who has COVID-19, to
self-isolate.
The county isn’t the
only area that has seen an
uptick in cases coming
from the agriculture and
food packing industry.
In the state’s most recent
weekly report published
June 3, there were 19
worksites with outbreaks.
The majority were agri-
culture or food packing
businesses.
Among those worksites
are two Townsend Farms
locations in Multnomah
County with 86 cases and
National Frozen Foods in
Linn County with 41 cases.
Six coronavirus deaths
have been associated with
workplace outbreaks.
Instead of imple-
menting fi nes or penalties,
Paul Cieslack, the med-
ical director for communi-
cable diseases and immu-
nizations, said the health
authority, Department of
Agriculture and county
offi cials are working
with agriculture and food
packing businesses to
create guidelines to reduce
the spread of the disease
as well as provide more
testing.
We at Loveland Funeral Chapel would like to say thank you to The
Oregon State Police, Union County Sheriff's Office, La Grande
Police Department, United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land
Management and everyone else who plays a role in protecting our
way of life. Thank you for your service.
A very very special thanks goes out to
all of our local law enforcement officials