NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
A7
Sixth person dies of COVID-19 in Grant County
OHA vaccine clinic
planned May 24-28
Blue Mountain Eagle
COVID-19 has claimed another life
in Grant County.
The Grant County Health Depart-
ment reported Thursday an 89-year-old
man who resided in Grant County died
at his residence. (The health depart-
ment corrected an original report that
stated he died at a hospital.)
The death will show up on the
Oregon Health Authority COVID-
19 database between today and early
next week, the health department
said.
This is the sixth COVID-19-related
death reported by the health depart-
ment in Grant County.
The fifth death was an 89-year-old
man who tested positive April 12 and
died May 5 at his residence.
The fourth death was an 87-year-
old woman who died at St. Charles
Medical Center in Bend March 23.
The third death was a 63-year-old
woman who died at St. Charles Med-
ical Center March 23.
The second death was an 81-year-
old woman who died at St. Charles
Medical Center March 19.
The first death was an 87-year-old
woman who died at home Nov. 15.
Grant County reported 12 new
COVID-19 cases in the last week.
OHA vaccine clinic planned
May 24-28
The Oregon Health Authority will
conduct drop-in COVID-19 vaccina-
tion clinics May 24-28 at the Grant
County Fairgrounds.
The clinics are from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. May 24-27 and from noon to
6 p.m. May 28.
Oregon to lift most virus restrictions
when 70% of residents vaccinated
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov Kate Brown laid out
some basic math on May 11
for Oregon’s way out of pan-
demic restrictions: Get 70% of
adult residents at least one shot
of vaccine and “normalcy” can
start to return as early as next
month.
“Let’s get this done, let’s
get our economy open, and
enjoy the summer,” Brown said
during an afternoon press call.
Oregon Health Author-
ity Director Pat Allen said the
state needed to inoculate about
430,000 more people to reach
the goal by June.
The announcement marked
a major policy shift in which
vaccination rate will now be
the key measure of a coun-
ty’s ability to drop COVID-19
restrictions.
Individual counties could
move out of restrictions even
earlier under the new policy.
Counties could apply for
the removal of restrictions this
week if they can show 65%
of residents 16 and older have
started the vaccination process.
If approved, restrictions could
be curtailed starting May 21.
Counties must also sub-
mit a “vaccine equity” plan on
how to get vaccine opportuni-
ties to people in underserved
communities.
OHA officials said some
counties with high vaccination
rates and low infection counts,
such as Clatsop County, could
move out of the restrictions next
week.
But the new emphasis on
vaccination levels also meant
counties such as Deschutes and
Washington could move out of
most restrictions despite high
infection rates this week.
Deschutes County reported
542.6 cases per 100,000 people
this week, the second highest of
Oregon’s larger counties behind
only Klamath County.
Allen said that high vacci-
nation rates were more import-
ant than high infection rates in
determining progress against
Anyone 15 and older can receive
a vaccine. Children 12 to 14 can also
receive the vaccination with a parental
consent form, which is available on the
Grant County Health Department web-
site, communitycounselingsolutions.org.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will
be available. OHA will return in about
four weeks to administer the second
doses.
For more information, call the
health department at 541-575-0429.
Face masks no
longer required for
the fully vaccinated
in most places
Masks still required
in hospitals, long-
term care facilities
Blue Mountain Eagle
PMG file photo
Gov. Kate Brown, at a 2020 press event, wearing her social distancing mask in public.
COVID-19. Even if infection
rates are high, vaccination rates
above 65% meant that cases
were unlikely to result in severe
illness or death.
On the flip side, if the state
reaches a 70% overall vaccina-
tion rate, even counties such as
Umatilla and Malheur, where
vaccination rates are at the low
end of the statewide scale, would
move out of the restrictions along
with all other counties.
Asked if meeting the
70% vaccination goal would
likely mean that the Pendle-
ton Round-Up could be held in
September, Brown was upbeat.
“Let ‘er buck,” Brown
forecast.
While the Centers for Dis-
ease Control may suggest some
mask requirements, most likely
the event would go off much
closer to normal than forecast
earlier. The Round-Up was
cancelled last year because of
COVID-19 concerns.
Brown said the moves were
possible because data showing
the most recent spike in cases
over the past month has begun
to fade.
“It looks like we’ve crossed
the tipping point of the fourth
surge,” Brown said. “Our hos-
pitalization rates have stabi-
lized. Our infection rates are on
a downward trajectory. And in
the race between vaccines and
variants, our efforts to vaccinate
Oregonians are taking the lead.”
Brown said she was confi-
dent the statewide vaccination
goal to reopen the entire state
by mid-June was in reach if res-
idents stepped up to get vacci-
nated and help others get their
shots, too.
Oregon is increasing walk-in
and local clinic efforts in an
attempt to get what national
infectious disease officials call
“impulse vaccinations” by peo-
ple who did not want to deal
with the burden of prior online
registration.
After achieving 70% state-
wide vaccination of those aged
16 and older, Oregon may con-
tinue requiring some use of
masks and physical distancing,
Brown said, as the CDC and
Oregon Health Authority mon-
itor conditions.
All other health and safety
requirements for counties under
the state’s risk level framework
would be lifted, and counties
would no longer be assigned
risk levels.
Oregon public schools
would still follow the state’s
“Ready Schools, Safe Learn-
ers” protocols, which will be
updated before the upcom-
ing return to school in the fall
with an eye on removing those
restrictions where possible with
CDC guidance.
Brown’s comments came
as the University of Oregon
and Western Oregon Univer-
sity announced this week that
students would have to be vac-
cinated against COVID-19 in
order to attend classes in per-
son this fall. Oregon State Uni-
versity and Portland State Uni-
versity had announced the same
policy earlier.
People who are fully vac-
cinated for COVID-19 are
no longer required to wear
masks in most places.
Gov. Kate Brown said
Thursday that Oregon would
be following new guidance
from the Centers for Dis-
ease Control stating individ-
uals who are fully vaccinated
can stop wearing masks and
social distancing.
“Oregonians now have
a choice of how to protect
themselves and others from
COVID-19: Either get vac-
cinated, or continue wear-
ing a mask and following
physical distancing require-
ments,” Brown said Thurs-
day in a statement.
The CDC listed a few
exceptions where masks are
still recommended, includ-
ing public transportation,
hospitals, health care clinics,
correctional facilities and
long-term care facilities, and
Brown said masks and social
distancing were still required
in those places.
Brown said school guide-
lines were not changing this
school year and that she
expects students and staff to
continue wearing masks and
social distancing.
She said people who
are immuno-compromised
should continue to follow the
recommendations of their
health care providers.
Brown said the Oregon
Health Authority will be pro-
viding updated guidance for
businesses, employers and
others to allow the option of
lifting masking requirements
after verifying vaccination
status.
“Some businesses may
prefer to simply continue
operating under the current
guidance for now, rather
than worrying about verify-
ing vaccination status, and
that’s fine,” she said.
Visit covidvaccine.ore-
gon.gov for more informa-
tion and resources.
REPORTER
The Blue
Blue Mountain
Mountain
Eagle,
a family-owned
newspaper
in a
The
Eagle,
a family-owned
weekly weekly
newspaper
in a stunningly
stunningly
beautiful
Oregon
community,
seeks
an
energetic,
dedi-
beautiful Oregon community, seeks an energetic, dedicated reporter.
cated reporter.
The
in John
Day, Day,
where
seeing seeing
deer in deer
front in
yards
is normal
The Eagle
Eagle is is located
located
in John
where
front
yards
and
traffic
is
unheard
of,
just
three
hours
from
Bend
and
Pendleton.
is normal and traffic is unheard of, just three hours from Bend and
Surrounded
by scenic forests
and dissected
by mountain
the
Pendleton.
Surrounded
by scenic
forests and
dissected streams,
by mountain
location
offers
year-round
recreational
opportunities,
including
fishing,
streams, the location offers year-round recreational opportunities,
hunting, fishing,
backpacking,
camping,
snowmobiling
and horseback
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including
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Despite the picturesque environment, the community is at the center of an
Despite
picturesque
environment,
the community
is at the cen-
evolving the
natural
resource restoration
economy,
which gains statewide
and
ter of an evolving natural
resource
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economy,
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statewide and even national attention.
Despite the
the small-town
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residents
are are
engaged
and and
politically
Despite
charm, the
the
residents
engaged
politi-
active
in local in
and
national
debates, debates,
and hard-hitting
stories are never
hard
cally active
local
and national
and hard-hitting
stories
are to
never
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find. include
Ongoing
topics
include
state and
federal
find.
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and federal
policies,
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wildfire
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in and
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in addition to and
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of small-town
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of
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offers
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breaking news The
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of breaking news and enterprise opportunities.
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150
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is the
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Serving
for more
more than
than
150
years,
Eagle
is the
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newspaper
in
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and
is
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Media
Group,
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winning
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an active family
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journals
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and
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and
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communities
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in the Pacific
Northwest,
and issues
timely impacting
reporting
the people
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impacting
the com-
reflecting
and spirit reflecting
of a free press.
munities we
serve in the
the responsibility
Pacific Northwest,
the responsibil-
ity and spirit of a free press.
We seek a journalist who is passionate about local news and excited about
We seek a journalist who is passionate about local news and excited
the opportunity to publish in print, online and through social media.
about the opportunity to publish in print, online and through social
Candidates must be able to develop story ideas, take photographs, develop
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195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, Oregon
S241539-1
S226597-1