By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Lincoln County commissioners voted 2-1 Monday to send a plan to the state outlining how it meets guidelines for reopening businesses closed under Oregon’s coronavirus restrictions.
While many counties are racing to reopen some businesses – including restaurants — on Friday, Lincoln County commissioners were reluctant to specify a reopening date.
Chair Kaety Jacobson said if the state approves the county’s plan this week, then the board could schedule an emergency meeting to pick a date. The county said it submitted its proposal to the state Tuesday morning.
Commissioner Doug Hunt opposed submitting a plan with an unspecified date or a May 15 date, saying he did not want businesses in the county to reopen before June 1.
“I feel we’re going to be risking a surge and it will be very likely we’ll have to shut down later,” Hunt said.
An approved reopening plan would, for example, allow restaurants and bars to resume serving customers inside their establishments but with restrictions on employees, distances and guests.
An Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman later told YachatsNews that any plan submitted Monday should be approved this week, providing there were no issues. As of 5 p.m. Monday, 31 of Oregon’s 36 counties had submitted such plans. Lincoln County’s was not on OHA’s list Monday evening.
Two hours after commissioners finished their meeting, however, Gov. Kate Brown’s office issued a statement saying that she would clarify her March 23 executive order and allow retail shops across Oregon to reopen Friday.
The statement said that any business such as boutiques, tourist shops, jewelry and furniture stores closed by state order could reopen Friday even if their county does not have an approved plan. Those businesses must follow state guidelines for operation, including wearing of masks, proper signs and enforcing social distancing by customers.
County commissioners made clear Monday that none of the state’s closure orders and the county’s reopening plan affect the county’s local ban on recreational use of motels, vacation rentals, campgrounds and RV parks that is in effect until at least May 31.
County Counsel Wayne Belmont and an advisory group is scheduled to meet Tuesday to finish a proposal on how to start reopening those beginning as early as June 1.
Commissioners have scheduled a meeting for 3 p.m. Thursday with the city councils from the seven cities in the county to discuss the lodging proposal.
Hunt said Monday he opposes including vacation rentals in any June 1 lodging reopening plan, fearing an “inundation” of visitors. Claire Hall said she was uncertain on the issue and chided the state for its “lack of clarity” on its reopening communication.
Jacobson reminded commissioners that Waldport’s visitor ban lasted only until Friday and there could be consistency issues if one city reopened lodging and others did not.
County and regional criteria
The state is requiring that counties describe how they will meet seven criteria before it is allowed to start Phase One of a three-stage reopening plan. A county has to be in Phase One for 21 days and be able to deal with any outbreaks before it can move to Phase Two.
Three criteria are up to counties along to meet:
- A declining number of COVID-19 hospital admissions;
- A system to trace and notify people who have been exposed to some with COVID-19;
- And, be able to provide motel rooms for up to 100 people who test positive for the coronavirus and have no place to isolate.
Health Department Director Rebecca Austen told commissioners that Lincoln County meets those requirements.
“We’re in good shape,” she said.
The county has had only six confirmed COVID-19 cases from a population of 50,000, one of the lowest rates in Oregon. Samaritan Health Systems is also increasing the number of tests it conducts and is up to 772 since March.
But the county is also lumped into a six-county hospital region that includes Marion, Yamhill, Polk, Linn and Benton counties.
Regional requirements are:
- Be able to conduct 30 COVID-19 tests per 10,000 people per week;
- Be able to adhere to OHA guidelines to protect workers and consumers;
- Hospitals must be able to handle a 20 percent increase in COVID-19 patients
- And, have a 30-day supply of personal protective equipment for hospital workers.
Marion County has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in Oregon and has asked from extra assistance from the state to handle the outbreak issues there. Still, Marion and hard-hit Linn County submitted their reopening plans Friday. Benton, Polk and Yamhill counties filed theirs Monday.
All six counties said in their plans they can meet regional requirements.
Commissioners fear big influx of people
Once the county’s plan is approved, Austen said the challenge will be to educate businesses and people – both locals and visitors – that there are still requirements and guidelines to be safe.
The county will embark on a campaign to remind people that the governor’s limits on non-essential travel is still in place, that social distancing works to lessen the number of cases, to wash or sanitize hands regularly, and to stay home if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.
“If people decide not to abide by that … the chances are that we’re going to get an uptick in cases and the state will close us down,” Austen said. “We don’t want to step back, especially during our summer season.”
Jacobson said she saw “huge amounts” of cars this weekend parked along U.S. Highway 101 between Newport and Lincoln City, what she considered a large number of visitors in both towns, and people not observing park closures.
“People heard the governor’s press release on Friday and what they heard was ‘open’,” Jacobson said. “What they didn’t hear was that there are criteria to meet” to be safe.
She said it will be “incredibly challenging and difficult” for the county to handle reopening of businesses – both retail and lodging – if it is flooded with visitors.
Still, Jacobson said, she hoped the county could get into Phase One of the reopening plan before June 1.
Crazy! Why wouldn’t they face “inundation” if only hotels open? The idea that a hotel would be safer than a single family dwelling that’s a vacation rental is ridiculous. A family can cook and isolate in a single family dwelling. Not in a hotel room with no cooking facilities.