A8
OREGON
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Legislature will hold special session Most counties will
SALEM — After weeks
of negotiations with law-
makers, Gov. Kate Brown
announced a one-day special
session of the Oregon Leg-
islature will be held Mon-
day, Dec. 21, to deal with
COVID-19 related issues.
The need for state action
has grown in recent weeks as
Congress has failed to come
up with a bill extending sev-
eral key programs on unem-
ployment, a eviction mora-
torium and small business
subsidies.
Brown says she will ask
for $800 million to help Ore-
gon residents who have bat-
tled a pandemic and one of
the worst fi re seasons in state
history.
“Many Oregon families
are struggling with unem-
ployment, housing, food
insecurity, and paying their
bills, “ Brown said. “We
must protect Oregonians
now, as we face some of our
hardest days.”
A possible third special
session has been on the table
since August as the likeli-
hood of substantial federal
Hansell
Smith
aid, such as the $2 trillion
CARES Act passed in the
spring were unrealized.
The session is expected to
extend the state’s residential
eviction moratorium beyond
its current expiration on Dec.
31 to as late as July 1, 2021;
provide liability protection
covering COVID-19 related
claims for schools; spend
$600 million for aid to those
affected by the COVID-
19 crisis and those hit by
late summer wildfi res that
burned more than 1 million
acres in Oregon; and allow
restaurants and bars to sell
cocktails to-go as a way to
make some money at a time
when dining is prohibited or
limited.
“I appreciate Gov. Brown
working with legislative
leadership of both parties,
prior to calling a special ses-
sion, to narrow the agenda
to four agenda items,” said
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Ath-
ena. “While the devil is in
the details, all four items
are needed and should have
bipartisan support.”
For the third time this
year, lawmakers will come to
the Oregon Capitol in Salem
amid an epidemic which has
only grown more threatening
in the intervening months.
Brown did not invoke a
never-before-used
consti-
tutional clause that would
have allowed the Legislature
to convene a “catastrophic”
session. A move favored by
many Democrats, it would
have allowed lawmakers to
avoid traveling to Salem and
instead hold hearings and
fl oor votes remotely.
The provision was created
to enable the Legislature to
meet in the event of a major
disaster or event. Its genesis
was in studies showing a 9.0
earthquake on the Cascadia
Subduction Zone, just off the
coast, which would kill thou-
sands and make communica-
tions and travel impossible.
Since lawmakers could
be among the casualties or
unable to contact Salem,
the Legislature would work
under somewhat different
rules, including a waiver on
the normal two-thirds quo-
rum of each chamber.
Using the catastrophic
declaration was opposed by
many Republicans because
Democrats hold a super-
majority in the House and
Senate that allows them to
pass tax and other revenue
bills without support from
Republicans.
In the past two sessions,
walkouts were used by
Republicans to halt consid-
eration of bills they opposed,
denying a quorum and bring-
ing work to a halt.
Some lawmakers in both
parties also worried a remote
session would erode the dis-
cipline to do business quickly
and adjourn. That could lead
to the introduction of issues
beyond those that have
near-consensus as being able
to pass both chambers and be
signed by the governor.
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Hep-
pner, said he hoped the spe-
cial session stuck to matters
that were a true emergency
and wasn’t used for things
that could be handled in the
regular 2021 Legislative Ses-
sion set to start in just a few
weeks.
First COVID vaccines are administered in Oregon
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — The fi rst
doses of a COVID-19 vac-
cine were administered
in Oregon on Wednesday,
Dec. 16, beginning a pro-
cess that won’t likely be fi n-
ished until summer.
Two Portland area hos-
pitals and one in Ontario
in Malheur County took
part in a live video feed of
the fi rst doses of the Pfi zer
vaccine being administered
to health care workers. The
vaccine requires two shots,
with about three weeks in
between.
Gov. Kate Brown said it
had been 292 days since the
fi rst COVID-19 case was
confi rmed in Oregon.
“This is truly the
moment we have all been
waiting for,” Brown said
during the event. “The
beginning of the next chap-
ter of the epidemic.”
The symbolic fi rst
shots were given at Leg-
acy Health and the Oregon
Health & Science Univer-
sity in Portland, and Saint
Alphonsus in Ontario. The
Ontario hospital said it had
already started inoculations
earlier in the day.
“In the last two hours,
we have vaccinated over 20
frontline caregivers, includ-
ing providers, nurses, respi-
ratory therapists, radiol-
ogy techs and lab,” said St.
Alphonsus Chief Nursing
Offi cer Dina Ellwanger.
Oregon Health Author-
ity Director Pat Allen said
the state so far has received
5,800 doses of the Pfi zer
vaccine, with more coming
in the next two weeks.
If a second vaccine made
by Moderna is approved
as expected by the Food
and Drug Administration,
Allen said the state will
have enough vaccines by
the end of the year to inocu-
late 100,000 people.
For most Oregonians,
the vaccine is months away
— perhaps as late as sum-
mer, according to com-
ments by health offi cials
during the event.
The fi rst doses are going
to health care workers and
other facility staff who are
likely to come into con-
tact with COVID-19 posi-
tive patients, or their waste
products.
The second group to get
the shots will be older resi-
dents of nursing homes and
other congregate care facil-
ities who have underlying
conditions that make them
especially vulnerable. Staff
at the facilities will also be
inoculated. About half of
all deaths in Oregon have
occurred in congregate care
facilities.
The additional rankings
for the next set of vaccines
is under review with input
from community groups,
Allen said. Essential work-
ers and those over 65 with
underlying conditions, such
as heart disease and dia-
betes, are expected to be
priorities.
spend holidays under
tightest restrictions
Umatilla, Morrow
counties remain
in ‘extreme risk’
category
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Most of Ore-
gon will greet the holiday
season and New Year’s Eve
as “extreme risk” locations
requiring tight COVID-19
limits on gatherings, dining
and activities.
Gov.
Kate
Brown
announced on Tuesday, Dec.
15, updates to county risk
levels under the state’s new
public health framework and
more counties now fall under
the highest risk category,
according to a press release.
In a sign the COVID-19
pandemic is still growing
in Oregon, more counties
were added to the extreme
risk level — Benton, Clat-
sop, Coos, Curry, Lincoln
and Tillamook counties. In
all, 29 of Oregon’s 36 coun-
ties are listed as extreme risk
for COVID-19 under the new
metrics released Dec. 15.
That is up from 25 counties
in the highest risk category
two weeks ago.
“We continue to see com-
munity spread across Oregon
to the point that the majority
of the state needs to continue
with strict health and safety
measures,” Brown said in the
release. “Until we reduce the
spread and have high par-
ticipation in vaccination, all
Oregonians need to follow
the guidelines in place in
their counties. I am also ask-
ing Oregonians to continue
practicing the measures we
know are effective in reduc-
ing the spread of COVID-
19 — wear your mask, keep
physical distance from oth-
ers, avoid gatherings, wash
your hands often, and stay
home when you’re sick.”
No counties fell under the
high risk category and only
one — Lake County — is
considered moderate risk.
Lake County was placed in
the extreme risk category two
weeks ago.
Grant and Harney coun-
ties dropped to the lower risk
category, joining Wallowa,
Wheeler, Sherman and Gil-
liam counties. Grant County
was an extreme risk county
two weeks ago, while Harney
County was in the moderate
risk category initially.
The framework uses four
different risk levels for coun-
ties based on COVID-19
spread — extreme risk, high
risk, moderate risk and lower
risk — and assigns health
and safety measures for each
level.
Counties
under
the
extreme risk levels must limit
gatherings to six people from
no more than two households.
Employers are required
to tell all workers who can
do their jobs remotely to stay
away from their offi ces.
All indoor dining is closed
and outdoor dining is limited
to 50 percent capacity with
take-away meals strongly
encouraged. Use of enter-
tainment, exercise, gyms
and pools, sports games and
activities located indoors is
prohibited. Outdoor activities
are limited to 50 people.
Visitations to residents of
long-term care and other con-
gregate care facilities must be
held outdoors.
Retail stores can remain
open, but at 50 percent capac-
ity. Personal services busi-
ness, such as hair salons, can
remain open.
Faith institutions should
limit indoor gatherings to
a maximum 25% capacity
or 100 total (whichever is
smaller), and a limit of 150
outdoors.
Risk levels will be revised
next with an announcement
on Dec. 29 and will cover the
period from Jan. 1 to Jan. 14,
2021.
e
n
i
D Local
in
Alive & Well
541-567-0272
Bellinger Farms
541-567-5870
Burger King
541-564-1967
Chen’s Chinese
541-667-8472
Dairy Queen
541-567-6622
Delish Bistro
541-303-9006
Denny’s
541-567-7178
Desert Lanes
541-567-6364
Domino’s Pizza
541-567-4000
El Nopal Mexican Grill
541-567-0385
El Pueblo Bakery
541-564-2519
El Ranchero
541-303-1095
Fortune Gardens
541-564-8512
Golden Palace
541-567-5151
Hale’s Restaurant
541-567-7975
Harkenrider Sr. Ctr.
541-567-3582
Hermiston Drug
541-567-3072
Ixtapa Mexican Rest
541-564-0320
Jack in the Box
541-567-3671
Kobe Hibachi Sushi
541-567-6178
La Palma
541-289-7240
Lawan’s Thai Garden
541-289-8424
Little Caesar’s Pizza
541-567-1697
McDonald’s
541-567-2544
Midway Bar & Grill
541-567-5180
Neighbor Dudes
541-289-2337
Downtown District
Obie’s
541-567-7300
Panaderia Yasmine
541-567-0671
Panda Express
541-848-6189
Panda Inn
541-564-6515
Papa Murphy’s
541-567-6000
Pho Quan
541-701-0676
Pizza Hut
541-567-7177
Quiznos
541-567-5050
Ruty’s Restaurant
541-314-9606
Shiki Steakhouse/Sushi
541-303-1558
Southern Twain
910-733-5829
Subway
541-564-0000
Taco Bell
541-564-4589
HERMISTON
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Tacos Garcia
541-701-0219
Tacos Nayarit
541-571-7209
Tacos Xavi
541-571-6880
Tacos y Mas
541-289-0228
Taste of Thai
541-567-5700
The Pheasant Bar/Grill
541-567-3022
Trina’s Mexican Food
541-289-8888
USA Subs & Grill
541-567-2260
Veg Out
541-561-9231
Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe
541-567-9066
TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Cozy Corner Tavern
Last Chance Tavern
Nookie’s Restaurant
Rio Express
Shari’s Restaurant
Covid-19 regulations are evolving. Please check with
restaurants for updated information. 12/14/20