By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Lincoln County is asking the state permission to move into Phase 2 of Oregon’s reopening plan in three weeks, allowing theaters, pools, bowling alleys and indoor or outdoor entertainment facilities to open for the first time since March.
County commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to apply this week and enter Phase 2 on Aug. 24, with the caveat they could rescind the application if the county sees a big spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Is it time to turn the dial up a little more?” Commissioner Claire Hall asked before the vote during the commission’s online meeting. “I’m leaning to yes.”
Chair Kaety Jacobson agreed; Commissioner Doug Hunt voted no, saying there was no longer a big difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2 and that the county needed better data on coronavirus spread.
“We really have nothing to lose by being patient,” Hunt said.
Until last week, Lincoln County was the only rural Oregon county still in Phase 1 and one of nine counties on a state “watch list” because of coronavirus spread. The county got off that list Thursday, opening the door to apply to enter Phase 2.
At the same time, Hood River, Marion and Multnomah counties were added to the watch list and Umatilla and Morrow counties were removed from Phase 2 because of outbreaks.
The differences in allowed activities between Phase 1 and Phase 2 were once significant, but not so much since the governor two weeks ago re-instituted statewide restrictions on restaurants, bars and indoor and outdoor social gatherings.
The biggest change would be to allow entertainment venues to resume operation with capacity limits of 100 indoors and 250 outdoors, and allow theaters, cinemas, pools, bowling alleys to reopen.
“That’s the significant difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2,” county Counsel Wayne Belmont told commissioners. “A lot of it has to do with venue and capacity.”
Phase 2 also allows more professional offices to reopen, with precautions for keeping workers separate.
And, for cities like Yachats, would mean the reopening of city-owned facilities like the Yachats Commons, Library and Little Log Church.
Health department director Rebecca Austen said she worried about the potential for increased spread if larger venues opened and people were not able or not willing to stay socially distant. But she endorsed a Phase 2 date in late August in order to see if trends stabilized.
“If we can stall this a few more weeks that would make me happy,” she told commissioners. “I don’t feel like our trend is stabilizing when we have four new cases one day and zero cases another.”
On Tuesday, a citizens advisory committee to the health department voted unanimously to ask commissioners to move the reopening date to no sooner than Sept. 21, to allow any coronavirus testing results to come back after the Labor Day weekend.
“We’re a public health advisory committee and we’d be derelict in our duty if we didn’t say something,” said Suzanne Miller, who represents Lincoln County Head Start.
Hunt, who is a liasion to the committee, was asked by Tom Kerns of Yachats if their letter would have any effect.
“I really can’t say,” Hunt replied. “I don’t know what factors will change their feelings about opening on Aug. 24 … but it can’t hurt.”
Struggles to meet some standards
Lincoln County has had 395 positive and presumptive COVID-19 cases since March, nearly half related to the state’s second-largest workplace outbreak at Pacific Seafood that spread into the community. In the past seven days there have been 14 reported cases, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
But the county is struggling to meet two of six “health indicators” usually required by the OHA to move into Phase 2. Those are:
- The percent increase in new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days should be 5 percent. Lincoln County’s is 22 percent for July 19-25, the latest period for which data is available.
- The percent of cases not traced to a known source should be less than 30 percent. Lincoln County’s is 45 percent, also for the July 19-25 period.
Jacobson said she spent considerable time last week asking the OHA and governor’s office to clarify if missing those marks automatically disqualified the county from moving into Phase 2. She said there was no clear answers or direction.
That’s one of the reasons Jacobson said she wanted to submit the Phase 2 application – force the state to give answers.
“I don’t even know if we’d be approved,” she said.
Hall said setting a Phase 2 date three weeks from Monday would allow the county time to see if coronavirus trends continue to improve.
“Setting a date allows businesses and the county to focus and bring the state more into the conversation,” she said. “This gives is something to shoot for.”
