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Wednesday, June 17, 2020
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Oregon hits new record in COVID-19 infections
By Gary A. Warner
For the Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon reported a new record for
COVID-19 infections on Thursday as
health officials cautioned the phased
“reopening” of the state depended on
residents not returning to pre-pan-
demic patterns.
“I am nervous that people think
moving into Phase 1 or Phase 2 is
going back to the way things were,”
Oregon Health Authority Director
Pat Allen said. “Nothing could be
further from the truth.”
The state reported 178 new pos-
itive cases of the virus on Thurs-
day, surpassing the previous one-day
record of 146 cases set on Sunday.
Oregon has reported 5,237 cases
since March.
Two more people died, bringing
the total to 171. The fatalities were
identified as a Clackamas County
woman, 84, and a Yamhill County
man, 66.
The majority of new cases were
in Clackamas (47), Multnomah (43),
Marion (34) and Washington (15)
counties.
The other cases were in Lincoln
(9), Yamhill (6), Umatilla (4), Polk
(4), Jefferson (3), Lane (3), Crook
(2) and Lake (2) counties. Deschutes,
Clatsop, Hood River, Union, Wal-
lowa and Wasco counties each
reported one case.
Allen said the state expected the
numbers to rise as the emergency
restrictions put in place in late March
to slow the spread of the highly con-
tagious virus are being partially
lifted.
“The question has always been,
can we manage that in a way that
doesn’t prevent the cases from going
up but prevents it from overwhelm-
ing our systems,” he said.
Phase 1 reopening, allowing some
restaurants and other businesses to
reopen, was approved for 31 of the
state’s 36 counties in mid-May.
On June 5, the state said 29 coun-
ties could move into Phase 2, which
allowed for larger crowds, more
travel and opening of theaters, bowl-
ing alleys and the return of some
workers to their offices. Allen cred-
ited an increase in testing and tracing
the contacts of those with infections
with part of the increase in numbers.
“Much of the testing going on
is focused on higher risk areas, like
long-term care and high density work
environments,” he said.
Allen said workplace outbreaks,
such as Pacific Seafood Co. in New-
port, have caused the numbers to rise.
The Centers for Disease Control
reported Thursday that there have
been 2 million cases in the United
States, with 113,000 deaths.
While much of Oregon has moved
into Phase 2, nearly half of Oregon’s
4.3 million people live in counties
that are lagging behind.
Multnomah County, which
includes Portland, is the only
county that has not started the
reopening process. It has applied
to go into Phase 1, and if approved
would start Friday. Marion, Wash-
ington, Clackamas, Hood River,
Lincoln and Polk counties are still
under Phase 1.
Allen said, so far, the mass “Black
Lives Matter” demonstrations in
Portland and smaller marches in
other Oregon cities have not shown
an increase in infection rates. Allen
said health officials would continue
to monitor the numbers as people
who are infected with COVID-19
can go two weeks before experi-
encing symptoms such as fever and
shortness of breath.
Allen said there were three sce-
narios going forward:
• If the growth in infections
remains under 10%, the number of
daily new cases would remain around
100, a manageable total for the health
care system. The reopening process
could continue to move forward.
• A rate of up to 20% would mean
infections could rise as high as 270
per day by July. The state and coun-
ties would have to review why the
numbers are up and take action to
bring the growth down.
• If the numbers rise by more
than 30% , Allen said health offi-
cials worry about an uncontrollable
growth in the virus that could over-
whelm the health care system, espe-
cially hospitals. Reopening mea-
sures would have to be curtailed or
reversed.
“We don’t see evidence of that
kind of trend emerging,” Allen said.
State releases guidelines for
reopening schools in fall
By Jackson Hogan
Oregon Capital Bureau
EO Media Group file photo
Cohen Montoya, right, looks
over Brett Ross’ iPad while
working on a project in a
computer science class at
Cascade Middle School in
Bend in 2019.
— although it is recom-
mended, particularly for mid-
dle and high school students,
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 recommended for stu-
dents and staff, and required
before eating meals. Elemen-
tary students will be required
to wash their hands before
and after using playground
equipment.
Before walking into a
school building or school bus,
each student and staff member
must be screened for COVID-
19 symptoms. This can be
done with a parent or guard-
ian’s confirmation, or through
a visual check.
Every school district and
private school will need to fill
out a state form, a blueprint for
reopening with checklists of
requirements to keep students
and staff safe.
If a school district chooses
to stick with temporary dis-
tance learning, or a hybrid of
in-school and distance learn-
ing, the district must describe
how that will look for its stu-
dents and staff. Districts must
also have plans in place in case
of a local spike of COVID-19
cases.
Districts receiving fed-
eral grants for disadvan-
taged students must also
consult with local tribal agen-
cies before sending in com-
pleted checklists. School dis-
tricts should also meet with
students, families and other
community groups to shape
their individual plan, the state
recommended.
Then,
school
dis-
tricts’ re-entry forms must
be approved by a series of
groups, in this order: the local
school board, the local pub-
lic health agency and the Ore-
gon Department of Education.
These blueprints for re-entry
must also be posted to school
district and school websites for
the public to see.
EO Media Group file photo
Oregon State University-Cascades students walk around the campus in Bend in 2017.
Big changes anticipated when
colleges, universities open this fall
Teresa Carson
For the Oregon Capital Bureau
College life will look a lot
different when students return
to school in the fall, with stu-
dents being asked to stay 6
feet apart and many traditional
campus activities off limits.
“The guidelines make it
very clear” that campus life
will indeed be different this
fall, Ben Cannon, executive
director of the Higher Educa-
tion Coordinating Commis-
sion, said.
College classrooms have
to follow general pandemic
capacity guidelines for their
locations. That means no more
than 25 people in a room for
counties in the Phase 1 open-
ing category and no more
than 50 people for all other
counties. Colleges must rear-
range classrooms to allow 6
feet of social distancing and
35 square feet per person of
space.
That’s going to make the
big lecture classes with hun-
dreds of students crammed
together off limits for the
duration of the pandemic. Sta-
diums filled with screaming
football or basketball fans are
out. Arts performances will
have to be rejiggered.
If 6 feet of distancing isn’t
possible, plastic or other bar-
riers are to be used and face
masks required. Face cover-
ings are recommended even
for spaces where distancing is
achieved.
The guidelines, issued
Friday by the commission,
were crafted with the Oregon
Health Authority and apply to
all public colleges including
community colleges and are
effective June 14. They are
designed to help tamp down
the spread of the COVID-
19 pandemic, which already
has killed more than 170
Oregonians.
Cannon said “each col-
lege and university will have
the flexibility to determine
when students may return to
campus.”
Colleges,
like
K-12
schools, have been teaching
students via distance learn-
ing since March. That pivot
“required a quick and extraor-
dinary transformation,” Can-
non noted.
Colleges are digesting the
new rules and those in Mult-
nomah County are wait-
ing for information on when
the county will start Phase 1
opening.
The new guidelines said
that, for colleges with resi-
dential students, dorm rooms
can’t have more than two
students and must allow 64
square feet per resident.
Cannon said that most
typical double dorm rooms
would still be able to accom-
modate two students, but
most triples would proba-
bly have to be reduced to two
residents.
“We don’t know yet what
residence hall interest levels
will be,” he said.
The guidelines said that
in learning situations “with
higher risk of spread, such as
laboratories, computer labs,
music/performance classes,
studios, and locker rooms,
(colleges must) implement
enhanced measures such as
greater physical distancing,
physical barriers (e.g. clear
plastic), increased fresh air
ventilation, moving outdoors,
and enhanced cleaning mea-
sures as feasible.”
There are detailed require-
ments for students in health
care professions or other
hands-on career and technical
education classes.
Local community groups
will continue to be locked out
of college campuses. College
classrooms, theaters, athletic
facilities, art galleries and
other spaces are frequently
used for public gatherings,
but the guidelines say col-
lege spaces can “be open only
for official college or uni-
versity business.” There are
exceptions if no other venues
are available and groups can
adhere to coronavirus safety
requirements.
Cannon admitted this rule
“will inhibit some of the com-
munity activities” that happen
on campuses across the state.
Much of the guidelines
are standard pandemic pro-
tocol, advising frequent hand
washing, not allowing peo-
ple to come to work or class
if they are ill and requiring
them to self-isolate if they
know they’ve been exposed
to COVID-19. The colleges
will have to provide space for
students to isolate if the need
arises. Colleges must have a
communicable disease plan in
case COVID-19 flares up on
campus.
Institutions are required to
clean and disinfect daily in
places where there is activity.
The guidelines are similar
to but much less detailed than
those for K-12 schools issued
by the Oregon Department of
Education issued on June 10.
Colleges must also have a
written plan to show how the
school is meeting the guide-
lines and should post it on its
web page, the guidelines said.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
is expected to issue an execu-
tive order soon on higher edu-
cation and COVID-19, replac-
ing the earlier one that was
effective through June 13.
Brown said in a statement:
“Each institution, each cam-
pus, and each building is dif-
ferent, and it’s critical that the
implementation of this public
health guidance be informed
by direct community feed-
back. But with safeguards in
place, Oregon’s great colleges
and universities can return to
fulfilling their missions in pur-
suit of learning, research, and
achievement.”
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This fall, Oregon’s K-12
students may finally get to
return to their classrooms for
the first 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 rituals
will need to be learned. Desks
will be 6 feet apart. Face cov-
erings will be required for
most school staff. Elemen-
tary students won’t share glue
sticks.
“There is no doubt this
spring was hard on students,
families, and educators,” said
a statement signed by state
education and health direc-
tors Colt Gill and Pat Allen.
“And yet, we believe return-
ing to school, the planning it
will require, and the shifts in
adult and student behavior it
will require will be even more
difficult.”
Much of the state’s long
list of reopening require-
ments and recommendations
fall under a few ideals: Keep
students and staff at a dis-
tance from each other, wipe
down and sanitize objects fre-
quently and make sure every-
one washes their hands as
often as possible.
Schools will be required
to keep students in isolated
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 modified to keep as
few students in hallways 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 fre-
quently, according to the state.
Face masks and coverings
will be required for all staff
who are regularly within 6 feet
of other people in school, bus
drivers, staff who prepare or
serve meals and school visi-
tors. Front office staff will be
required to wear larger, plas-
tic face shields, or be behind a
plastic barrier.
Students will not be
required to wear face masks
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