The Columbia Press
January 29, 2021
County stays in “extreme risk” category
The Columbia Press
Clatsop County will stay in
the “extreme risk” category for
at least two more weeks, state
leaders decided, after there
was little improvement in the
number of people contracting
the coronavirus.
During the prior seven days,
which ended Wednesday, the
county reported 25 new cases
for a total of 738 since the pan-
demic began. Sixteen people
have been hospitalized; five
have died. The rest have recov-
ered or are recovering.
Gov. Kate Brown made the
risk category announcement
Tuesday, a continuation of
restrictions that have been
in effect for the previous two
weeks.
The county’s rate of new
COVID-19 cases exceeded
the state’s threshold of 200
per 100,000 population for
the Jan. 10-23 period. Twen-
ty-four other Oregon counties
also fall in the “extreme risk”
category.
Restrictions through at least
Feb. 12 include no indoor din-
ing for eating and drinking
establishments and no indoor
visitation at long-term care
facilities. Theaters, bowling
alleys and gyms must largely
remain closed.
Some modifications have
been made to the restrictions
this go-around. For instance,
indoor activities for a maxi-
mum of six people at facilities
larger than 500 square feet are
allowed for everything except
dining.
For facilities smaller than
500 square feet, the new guid-
ance allows for one-to-one
customer experiences, such as
personal training.
The state introduced the risk
level metric (low, moderate,
high and extreme) in Novem-
ber to impose business and so-
cial restrictions based on each
county’s infection rates mea-
sured over two-week periods.
Statewide, there have been
140,063 cases as of Wednesday
Courtesy Clatsop County
Registered Nurse Betsy Brenden administers a vaccine to Da-
vid Martinez, an Oregon State Police trooper, during a clinic at
Columbia Memorial Hospital.
and 1,924 deaths.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Oregon had administered
340,369 first and second dos-
es of COVID-19 vaccines, as
of Wednesday. More than
600,000 doses have been de-
livered to sites across the state,
according to Oregon Health
Authority.
Clatsop County had innocu-
lated just over 2,500 people, or
about 4.5 percent of the popu-
lation.
Oregon’s ongoing response
to the pandemic has been
among the most effective na-
tionally, as measured in pre-
venting the loss of life through
statewide measures, according
to OHA Director Patrick Allen.
“Oregon has outperformed
nearly all other states in con-
taining the COVID-19 virus
and preventing ... deaths,” he
said. “As of Jan. 27, the state
ranks fifth lowest in deaths per
100,000 persons in the coun-
try, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Pre-
vention.”
Vaccination survey
A vaccine task force set up by
the county is asking citizens to
help in the planning effort by
filling out an online survey.
5
The survey does not register
those who respond for an ap-
pointment, but helps plan the
most effective and efficient
distribution.
Participants will be asked to
give their name, age, contact
information, and any under-
lying medical conditions. De-
pending on the survey, some
will be asked about their place
of employment. Surveys also
are available in Spanish.
The information will help in
scheduling vaccination events
and provide organizers with
contact information to inform
citizens of upcoming clinics
when they’re eligible.
The surveys are on the coun-
ty website, co.clatsop.or.us.
Volunteers sought
Clatsop County seeks volun-
teers to staff its COVID-19 call
center.
Volunteers will perform
multiple tasks including test
scheduling, answering ques-
tions, and assisting citizens in
making appointments.
People with customer service
experience and good phone
etiquette especially are urged
to apply; training will be pro-
vided. Due to the nature of
the information that the call
center will handle, a criminal
background verification is re-
quired.
Volunteer shifts are 1 ½ to
two hours during the day.
Sign up to volunteer on the
county’s website, co.clatsop.
or.us or send an email to hr@
co.clatsop.or.us.
States and restrictions
The personal-finance website
WalletHub released rankings
this week for states with the
fewest and most restrictions.
Oregon falls in the middle.
The company compared the
states across 14 metrics rang-
ing from whether restaurants
are open to whether the state
has required face masks in
public and workplace tem-
perature screenings.
States with the fewest restric-
tions are, in order, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Iowa, Arkan-
sas, Florida, Utah, Missouri,
Wisconsin, Alaska, and South
Carolina.
States with the most restric-
tions: California, Virginia,
Massachusetts, New Mexico,
Washington, Vermont, North
Carolina, Hawaii and Illinois.