PORTLAND, Ore. — Nine counties in Oregon have a new set of restrictions beginning Wednesday, as part of a state response to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
The new rules are part of what Gov. Kate Brown is calling a “pause,” which will be in place for two weeks, from Nov. 11-25. The pause is being instituted in counties with a case rate above 200 per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with less than 30,000 people, the governor said.
The following counties are included in the two-week pause:
- Baker
- Clackamas
- Jackson
- Malheur
- Marion
- Multnomah
- Umatilla
- Union
- Washington
Here’s a list of the new measures that will go into place, which the governor and state health officials hope will help reverse the current surge of cases.
- Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
- Pausing long-term care facility visits to protect staff and residents.
- Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
- Reducing other indoor activity maximums capacity to 50 people (for example: gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools, museums).
- Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than 6 people if the gathering includes those from outside your household, reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period), and keeping the same 6 people in your social gathering circle.
The new rules impact the following businesses:
- Aquariums
- Bowling alleys
- Fitness-related facilities
- Indoor entertainment facilities
- Indoor markets
- Facilities where K-12 school sports are practiced or played
- Facilities where recreational sports are practiced or played
- Licensed swimming pools, licensed spa pools and sports courts
- Museums
- Restaurants/bars/breweries/brewpubs/wineries/tasting rooms/distilleries
- Skating rinks
- Venues
The two-week pause does not change any of the current rules for faith-based gatherings at this time.
Last week, Gov. Brown said additional closures my be necessary if case counts don’t begin to decline.
"This is a wake-up call. I do not want to have to take further actions to stop the spread of COVID-19 because of the devastating effect on our businesses, both large and small,” she said.
Gov. Brown and state health officials said the virus is spreading through the state an unprecedented rate due in large part to in-person, indoor social gatherings. The new measures are an effort to stop the spread and save lives by limiting in-person interactions.
Over the last six days, Oregon has reported its six highest daily case counts so far during the pandemic, ranging from 723 cases to 988 cases. There have been a total 51,909 known COVID-19 cases in Oregon during the pandemic, including 737 people who have died.