By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
A sharp decline in the number of new COVID-19 cases may get Lincoln County off Gov. Kate Brown’s “watch list” as early as Friday.
And if there are no new, sudden and large coronavirus outbreaks, county commissioners will then consider applying to enter Oregon’s Phase 2 reopening, which could allow larger gatherings of people and loosen some restrictions on bars, restaurants, churches, movie theaters and gyms.
Entering Phase 2, however, would not overrule the governor’s more recent restriction that limits social indoor gatherings to 10 people or new, lowered statewide restrictions on larger gatherings effective Friday.
The governor put Lincoln and eight other rural Oregon counties on a “watch list” July 3 because of large per capita increases in coronavirus cases.
Lincoln County has had 373 COVID-19 cases since early March, much of it driven by a massive early June outbreak at Pacific Seafood’s plants in Newport that spread into the community and other businesses.
But a sharp decline in the number of new cases the past two weeks – there have been just 15 cases since July 9 – means the county could soon come off the watch list.
That case decline could also trigger a discussion this week by county commissioners whether to apply to enter Phase 2 of the state’s three-stage reopening plan.
Oregon Health Authority rules say a county has to be on the watch list for at least 21 days. At the earliest, that ends Friday, July 24.
To get off the list, the governor’s office this week told Commission Chair Kaety Jacobson that a county also has to have 50 or fewer COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents that cannot be traced to a known source – called “sporadic cases” over a 14-day period. Lincoln County has a population of about 50,000 – which means it has to have had less than 25 sporadic cases.
Nicole Fields, deputy director of Lincoln County Public Health, told commissioners this week that the source of 30 percent of all new cases in the county the past seven days are unknown. Applied over a two-week timespan, that means that just five of the last 15 cases are unknown – well below the state’s 25-case threshold.
Phase 2 criteria
Once it is off the “watch list,” Fields said the county has to meet six criteria for applying to Phase 2 of the reopening plan. It is currently meeting five of the six – and is just under the measurement for the sixth.
Lincoln County is meeting criteria for the percentage of coronavirus patients going to a hospital emergency room, has a downward trend in positive tests and cases over seven days, meets the percent of cases not traced to a known source in last seven days, and shows a downward trend in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The county is not meeting a measurement of having 95 percent of its new cases being traced within 24 hours. But its contact rate is 94 percent, according to the Oregon Health Authority.
The agency says a county not meeting any one indicator “does not define final decisions for reopening this county.”
Lincoln County is one of four Oregon counties still in Phase 1 of reopening. The others are the three Portland-area jurisdictions of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas.
The seven other rural counties also on the governor’s “watch list” – Wasco, Jefferson, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Malheur and Lane — are in Phase 2.
County commissioners have been reluctant to move into Phase 2 while the COVID-19 outbreak was spreading through the Newport area. That was still the case when commissioners met Monday.
While the past week or so have seen a good decline in Lincoln County cases, Fields said she would feel more comfortable seeing the trend for two more weeks.
Commissioners agreed.
In an interview with YachatsNews, Jacobson said she was encouraged by the decline in positive cases. Results expected this week of a second round of random COVID-19 sampling by Oregon State University will also help determine if its prevalence in the community has decreased, she said.
That could give commissioners more confidence of a coronavirus decline, she said.
“Things can change so fast,” Jacobson said. “As we saw in June, we can go from nearly nothing to having a lot.”
Rules for Phase 2
Moving from Phase 1 to Phase 2 won’t be “business as usual,” but people and businesses will be able to enjoy more freedoms.
It would allow more government and private office buildings and city recreation facilities to open.
Before the governor instituted 10 person limits on indoor gatherings, under Phase 2 guidelines gatherings of up to 50 people could take place indoors, up from 25 people from Phase 1; outdoor gatherings can have up to 100 people. This applies to such things as pools, backyard weddings and recreational sports.
Until the governor changed it Wednesday, bars and restaurants could stay open until midnight, past the Phase 1 curfew of 10 p.m. But effective Friday, all of Oregon goes back to 10 p.m. closings.
Larger outdoor venues can have up to 250 people, depending on the size of the facility. Brown’s new order reduced that to 100 for many other venues.
Pools and spas will be able to reopen as long as they provide sufficient space for people to stay apart, and people who are part of the same group can swim together.
Indoor activities like bowling, arcades and mini golf will also receive specific guidance for reopening.
So, just as we’re getting through our recent virus surge, they want to blow it by relaxing restrictions that are working? STUPID and dangerous. Don’t they see what’s happening around us? We may be doing well now (thank you people of Lincoln County), but relaxing restrictions will allow more virus transited in to our towns from the outside. No.
By the way, it has nothing to do with “freedoms” (“…able to enjoy more freedoms.”). Please find another word.