BUSINESS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2021
Morrow County moved to lower risk category
The shift allows some
businesses to open at
greater capacity
“I THINK IT’S A
PRODUCT OF A
LOT OF FOLKS
WHO HAVE
GIVEN UP AN AWFUL
LOT.”
By BRYCE DOLE
STAFF WRITER
Morrow County started
operating under “low risk”
rules for COVID-19 on
Friday, March 12, allow-
ing restaurants, fi tness and
entertainment facilities to
open at greater capacities.
The move comes as the
county continues to see
relatively low case counts,
with 33 confi rmed and pre-
sumptive cases reported
between Feb. 14 and 27,
according to data from
the
Ore-
gon Health
A u t h o r i t y.
The
state
looks at a
county’s
case count
Lindsay
or
test-
ing positiv-
ity rate over a recent two-
week period to determine
what its risk level should
be.
“We’re
just
really
excited to see our num-
bers get down to the point
where we can celebrate the
hard work that all the cit-
izens have done,” Mor-
row County Commissioner
Melissa Lindsay said.
The new levels went
into eff ect on Friday,
March 12.
Morrow County was
one of 13 counties lowered
in the state’s latest assess-
ment of COVID-19 risks
on March 9, showing pos-
itive signs that the state
is making strides toward
overcoming the pandemic.
“We are largely seeing
case rates decline across
the state, with the most
counties in the Lower Risk
level since the framework
was introduced in Novem-
ber,” Gov. Kate Brown
said in a press release.
“I encourage all Orego-
Jim Doherty, Morrow County Commissioner.
indoor and outdoor capac-
ity for restaurants and
extends closing hours to
midnight. Indoor and out-
door recreation and facil-
ities, entertainment estab-
lishments and religious
gatherings can all expand
capacity.
“My biggest hope is
that it gives people hope,”
Lindsay said, “and that
they’ve seen some of the
good actions they’ve taken
working and that it will
drive us into the last stage,
which is the vaccination,
and that they’ll get the vac-
cination and that we’ll get
back to our lives.”
Lindsay added that, in
light of the change, she
remains concerned that the
shift in risk category will
cause the county to “let our
guard down and start hav-
ing larger gatherings and it
will spread again and we’ll
have the numbers increase
and go backwards.”
Since the pandemic
began last year, the county
has reported 1,052 positive
cases and a testing posi-
tivity rate of 14.4% — the
highest in the state, accord-
ing to an Oregonian/Ore-
gonlive database.
“We certainly don’t
want to celebrate the num-
bers where they’re at with
a big old festival where
we all get together mask-
less,
right?”
Morrow
County
Commissioner
Jim Doherty said. “Take
it to heart, start breathing,
and start looking around
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Irelynn Kollman serves cookies to go at Breaking Grounds Coff ee in Heppner on Feb. 19, 2021.
Morrow County has been lowered from moderate coronavirus risk category to lower risk,
allowing a variety of businesses to open at greater capacities.
COUNTY RISK CATEGORIES
Eff ective Friday, March 12
Lower Risk (13)
Clatsop
Crook (Moved from High)
Gilliam
Grant
Harney (Moved from Mod-
erate)
Hood River (Moved from
Moderate)
Lake (Moved from Moderate)
Lincoln
Morrow (Moved from Mod-
erate)
Sherman
Wallowa
Wasco
Wheeler
Moderate Risk (12)
Baker (Moved from Lower)
Clackamas
Deschutes (Moved from
nians to keep it up and to
get your vaccine when it’s
available to you.”
Almost all the coun-
ties that were lowered in
the state’s risk category
are located east of the Cas-
cades. Umatilla County,
however, did not see its
High)
Klamath (Moved from High)
Lane (Moved from High)
Linn
Malheur*
Multnomah (Moved from
High)
Tillamook (Moved from
Lower)
Union
Washington
Yamhill (Moved from High)
High Risk (9)
Benton (Moved from Ex-
treme)
Columbia
Curry (Moved from Moder-
ate)
Jackson**
Jeff erson (Moved from
Extreme)
Josephine (Moved from
status change, though
cases have continued to
decline on average. The
county will remain at high
risk until the metrics are
reassessed after another
two weeks.
The change for Morrow
allows indoor social gath-
Extreme)
Marion
Polk
Umatilla
Extreme Risk (2)
Coos
Douglas
*Malheur County qualifi es
for High Risk but is given a
two-week caution period
at Moderate Risk because it
moved down from Extreme
Risk in the last movement
period.
**Jackson County qualifies
for Extreme Risk but is giv-
en a two-week caution pe-
riod at High Risk because it
moved down from Extreme
Risk in the last movement
period.
erings at a maximum of
10 people from as many as
four separate households.
As many as 12 people
can also gather outdoors,
with no mentioned cap on
households, according to
state guidelines.
The change expands
and understand that, look,
the needle is moving and
we’re moving the needle
and there is a tomorrow.”
Doherty said he is espe-
cially hopeful that the
change will help the coun-
ty’s Hispanic commu-
nity, who have dispropor-
tionately impacted by the
pandemic, at one point
accounting for nearly 60%
of the county’s reported
cases despite making up
approximately 38% of its
population.
“They’re the back-
bone of Morrow County,”
Doherty said, adding that
Hispanic residents make
up a large portion of the
county’s agricultural work-
force, which drives the
county’s economy but has
oftentimes placed work-
ers at a greater risk of con-
tracting the virus.
“In that family, they’ve
got to be really feeling a
weight coming off their
shoulders,” Doherty said.
Doherty said county
businesses will be among
those that benefi t most
from the change. He added
that with recent develop-
ments from the CDC, say-
ing that vaccinated peo-
ple can begin gathering
indoors without social dis-
tancing and mask wearing,
all signs are showing that
things are moving in a pos-
itive direction.
“I think it’s a product
of a lot of folks who have
given up an awful lot,”
Doherty said.
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