THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
THE OBSERVER — 5A
RISK
MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19
AND RISK LEVELS
Continued from Page 1A
from Gov. Brown, and a lot
of businesses are hurting,”
he said. “Last thing they
need is to have food not go
out the door.”
Guentert said he under-
stands why businesses
might fl out regulations
regarding in-person dining:
It’s a matter of survival.
Removing three
COVID-19 cases from
Union County’s record
seems like a small thing,
but it might make the dif-
ference for any number of
local businesses..
Union County in a press
release Tuesday, Feb. 23,
explained county com-
missioners disputed a
three-case discrepancy
of COVID-19 the Oregon
Health Authority incorrectly
posted to the county’s totals.
The county had totaled 46
cases for the period of Feb.
7-20, but after the fi x, the
total stands at 43 for the
two-week period.
The three cases were in
another county, according
to the press release, and
removing them dropped
Union County two risk
levels, from the extreme
risk category to the mod-
erate risk category, effective
Friday, Feb. 26.
RULES
Continued from Page 1A
health care workers. The
pandemic took a toll on
hospitals and medical cen-
ters who saw severe illness
and sometimes death of
the very people whose jobs
were to save lives of others.
The long months of the
pandemic had also shown
society’s weakest points.
Nursing homes reported
just 5% of all COVID-19
infections nationwide. But
the often frail residents and
close quarters mean these
residents account for just
over one-third of all deaths.
Oregon is one of 10 states
where more than half of all
deaths are from these “con-
gregate care” facilities,
according to the New York
Times.
Residents and staff of
the homes were put next to
medical workers at the top
of the priority list.
At that point, the states’
unanimity ends.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
recommended that those
over age 65 be next in
line. About 80 percent of
deaths from COVID-19 in
the United States are aged
65 and over. Risk rises
with age so that while
someone 85 is only twice
as likely as a 17-year-old
to become infected, they
are 7,900 times more
likely to die, according to
the CDC.
All but fi ve states fol-
lowed the recommendation,
including California and
Washington.
Oregon did not.
Gov. Kate Brown
decided teachers, school
staff and daycare workers
should be next in hopes of
jump-starting a return to
school this spring by stu-
dents shuttered at home
with “virtual learning.”
Brown argued that
153,000 educators and
school staff were a rel-
atively small number of
people to put ahead of
the 795,000 Oregonians
over the age of 65. Oregon
Public Broadcasting esti-
mated that about 86 seniors
would die for each week of
delay.
It was a price Brown
believed was worth it to
get the state’s future func-
The State Sector Risk Level Guidance Chart from the Oregon
Health Authority with all risk levels is available for viewing at
sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le3461.
pdf. Additional detailed state sector-specifi c guidance is at coro-
navirus.oregon.gov/Pages/guidance.aspx.
You can fi nd information regarding COVID-19, including vaccina-
tions, online at the Oregon Health Authority at govstatus.egov.
com/OR-OHA-COVID-19, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV and the
Center for Human Development’s Union County Public Health
site at www.chdinc.org/covid19.
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Kody Guentert, owner of Brother Bear Cafe sits at a window-side table in the La Grande
business on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Union County establishments can open Friday to
in-person dining and other services. “If we’re limited to takeout only,” Guentert said,
“then the whole point of the business is moot.”
Union County is among
the 10 counties out of Ore-
gon’s 36 that Gov. Kate
Brown Tuesday said were
dropping off the extreme
risk tier. Another six coun-
ties also will improve their
infection risk levels.
The moves means restric-
tions on businesses, dining
and activities will be less
strict starting Friday for a
long list of Oregon cities —
including Astoria, Lincoln
City, Prineville, The Dalles,
Hermiston, Pendleton, La
Grande and Ontario. Among
the larger cities that will see
less restrictions are Eugene,
Salem, Medford, Beaverton,
Albany, McMinnville and
Oregon City.
Five counties — Jef-
ferson (Madras), Benton
(Corvallis), Josephine
(Grants Pass), Douglas
(Roseburg) and Coos
(Coos Bay) — remain at
“Can you require vaccination for
a job? It’s problematic. But it is a
question that’s coming.”
— Dr. Arthur Caplan, director of New York University
Langone’s Division of Medical Ethics
tioning. The governor and
health offi cials portrayed it
as a short delay.
“I know there will still
be some who disagree with
this choice,” Brown said at
a press conference Jan. 22.
“The harsh reality is we are
managing a scarce resource
right now.”
The blowback was
immediate. Senior advo-
cates, medical groups and
even her own Governor’s
Commission on Senior Ser-
vices weighed in against
Brown’s decision.
“There are 45 other
states that are listening
to the science and vacci-
nating vulnerable seniors,”
commission members said
in a Jan. 28 letter to the
governor.
Adding to the timeline
troubles was a Feb. 3 fed-
eral court order requiring
Brown to immediately start
vaccinating about 12,000
inmates at Oregon cor-
rectional facilities. About
28% of inmates had been
infected with COVID-19,
compared to 3% of Ore-
gon’s overall population.
The delay in vaccination
violated the U.S. Consti-
tution ban against “cruel
and unusual punishment.”
The state did not appeal the
ruling.
Caplan, the NYU eth-
icist, said governors who
deviate sharply from
federal guidelines risk
cracking public consensus.
“Why are elderly in
group homes vaccinated,
but the elderly living on
their own must wait?”
Caplan asked rhetorically.
“Why are teachers more
important than the grocery
store bagger or UPS guy?”
The governor’s objec-
tivity was called into
question because she had
received $240,000 in con-
tributions from the Oregon
Education Association PAC
in her 2018 race for gov-
ernor, a relatively small
portion of the $18.5 million
she raised for the race.
Some union offi cials
said even with the vac-
cine, they might not go
back to the classroom
without wider vaccina-
tion of the public. The
CDC announced last week
that schools could safely
reopen without vaccinating
teachers.
Brown also had Oregon
go its own way for age-re-
lated vaccinations. Eligi-
bility was staggered, begin-
ning with those 80 and
older on Feb. 8, two weeks
after the education group.
The minimum age for eligi-
bility would drop fi ve years
every week until everyone
65 and older was eligible
March 1.
Vaccine shortages hit
every state. But media
reports of 65-year-olds
lucky enough to get an
early appointment at mass
inoculation sites like Disne-
yland and Dodger Stadium
in California stoked resent-
ment in Oregon.
“States are amending
their criteria of who is eli-
gible — sometimes adding
millions of people — but
without any additional
supply,” Caplan said.
The differences between
states were inexplicable to
someone who was eligible
across the country, but not
in their own hometown.
“It erodes public trust,”
Caplan said. “In the end,
it comes down to ‘I’m just
going to do whatever I have
to do to get a shot.’”
Also souring the public
mood were reports of
well-connected people get-
ting shots through dubious
eligibility. In Oregon, Prov-
idence Health included its
board of directors — which
includes large donors — in
the medical group at the top
of the list.
“We all hate people who
butt in line,” Brown said
when told of the action.
Brown, 60, said on
Friday that she had not
been vaccinated. Under
her current plan, there is
no timeline for when she
would become eligible.
Brown is expected to
announce the next eligible
groups on Feb.26. The
actual start date for those
the extreme risk level. That
compares to 26 counties in
late November at the height
of the holiday spike in
infections.
The state’s four-tier
risk level rates counties
at lower, moderate, high
and extreme levels for
COVID-19 spread. Ranking
is determined by measures
including total cases, cases
per 100,000 people and pos-
itive infection rate. The
inoculations isn’t likely to
be before early spring.
Often overlooked
was the sheer size of the
national effort to eventu-
ally offer vaccination to
the estimated 333 million
Americans.
President Joe Biden
made headlines with a
promise to put 100 mil-
lion shots into Americans’
arms in his fi rst 100 days
in offi ce. Since the current
vaccines require two shots,
the promise covers only
50 million people. At that
pace, vaccination eligibility
for some Americans will
stretch into 2022.
Problems ahead include
getting a vaccine that is
safe for children. The cur-
rent vaccines are only rec-
ommended for those 16 and
over.
New vaccines could sig-
nifi cantly shorten the time-
line. The estimates also
don’t take into account
Americans who decline to
get vaccinated. Some esti-
mates put the refusal rate at
30 percent.
Caplan says that is the
issue that looms large in the
future.
“The focus now is on
who is getting the vaccine,”
he said. “At some point the
question will be who is not
getting the vaccine.”
States will have to navi-
gate legal and ethical ques-
tion on treatment of those
who do not get vaccinated.
Israel has vaccinated
almost half its popula-
tion and is planning laws
and rules for post-pan-
demic activity. Israelis who
are vaccinated received a
“Green Badge” — a certifi -
cate with a unique QR code,
according to the Associ-
ated Press. When museums,
concert halls, theaters and
other public venues reopen,
the “Green Badge” will be
required to get inside.
Caplan said a similar
system could be used in the
United States for everything
from football stadiums to
neighborhood bars.
How far the prohibitions
facing those who go unvac-
cinated is an ethical debate
still over the horizon for
now.
“Can you require
vaccination for a job?,”
Caplan said. “It’s
problematic. But it is a
question that’s coming.”
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“I try to keep everyone
working. That’s my pri-
ority,” Chen said. “Because,
there’s a couple reasons for
it. One is the disruption of
the business. If you shut
everything down, and try to
open it back up, it’s pretty
hard to do.”
During the previous
lockdown the restaurant lost
about 25% of its staff, and
he said many moved on to
fi nd other work.
“I have experience with
that last time, so I refuse
to lay anyone off,” he
said. “So even if someone
comes and they sit around,
do some preparation or
cleaning or whatnot, I
simply have them come in
just to hang out. I try my
best to support everybody
here. It’s good for me, and
it’s good for them, too.”
— Gary Warner with
the Oregon Capital Bureau
contributed to this article.
LOSO
upgrades will make it
easier to alter sound and
lighting during produc-
tions. Making this pos-
sible has involved the
installation of an extensive
amount of new wiring in
protective pipes.
“We added miles and
miles of conduit,” Fowler
said.
Keeping the conduit
out of sight while main-
taining the integrity of
Loso Hall was an enor-
mous challenge. Fowler
called it the hardest part of
the renovation process and
said determining how to
best install the wiring kept
him up at night.
Upgrading Loso
Hall’s aging infrastruc-
ture, including its heating,
cooling and ventilation
systems, also is been part
of the renovation project.
Much of the remod-
eling has been accom-
plished while classes were
in session at EOU. David
Moore, EOU’s capital
projects manager, credited
Nagelhout Construction
with doing a good job of
working in an unobtrusive
manner that did not have
an effect on classes during
fall and winter terms.
“We never received any
complaints from profes-
sors,” he said.
The capital projects
manager said many on
campus and in the com-
munity are eager to see
the Loso Hall upgrades.
Continued from Page 1A
to appear to trek long dis-
tances as sets representing
different regions circle
past.
Heather said he
believes Schwarz The-
atre may be the only one
in Eastern Oregon with a
turntable stage. Such turn-
tables are normally only
in theaters in much larger
areas.
Other renovation work
includes the installation
of cameras and viewing
screens for people to see
productions throughout
Loso Hall. For example,
if a performance at McK-
enzie Theatre is sold out,
people will be able to view
it live on a large screen in
Schwarz Theatre.
Operating the lighting
and curtains at McK-
enzie Theatre also will be
easier because of techno-
logical upgrades. Previ-
ously, all the theater’s cur-
tains had to be lowered
and raised by hand, a chal-
lenging process because
of their weight. Now this
can be done electronically
with the push of a button,
Fowler said, in just 24
seconds.
And new heat sen-
sors mean curtains drop
automatically in case of
a fi re, preventing it from
spreading.
Other electronic
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restrictive the rules on busi-
nesses and activities.
The state reevaluates
levels every two weeks.
Announcement of the next
level changes will be March
9 and will go into effect
March 12.
Frankie Chen, the owner
of GC Asian Fusion, a few
blocks down Adams from
Brother Bear Cafe, said his
staff is eager for Friday.
“All the employees are
happy and excited, because
in the past few months it’s
been hard for everybody,
and a lot of our staff are
relying on their tips to sur-
vive,” he said.
He said during the ban
on in-person dining, the
restaurant only had to lay
off one person — the dish-
washer because there were
no dishes. That was a crit-
ical position, he said, and
will be again.
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