By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Lincoln County is well on its way to meeting state COVID-19 requirements for reopening businesses and allowing more social interaction, but may be slowed from doing that because it is been put into a planning region that includes a county with the highest rate of infection in Oregon.
Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Health Authority are providing guidelines for how areas of the state can reopen for business and recreation. To help plan that, it is combining neighboring counties into regions. The state put Lincoln County in a region with Marion, Yamhill, Polk, Benton and Linn counties – and no other coastal counties.
While Lincoln County shares a border with Marion County east of Lincoln City, there is not much in common when it comes to the coronavirus.
Lincoln County, population 50,000, has just seen five COVID-19 cases, one hospitalization and no deaths. Marion County, population 366,000 has experienced 561 positive tests and 19 deaths.
Marion County has the highest rate of infection in Oregon and the second-most total infections, according to analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Yamhill and Linn counties have each had seven deaths, Benton five and Polk two.
The question of regional openings versus county-by-county openings came up Monday during a meeting of Lincoln County commissioners as they heard reports on how staff is planning to meet state benchmarks for reopening and prepare a request.
The governor has said some counties – most likely rural counties in eastern Oregon – may be able to start Phase 1 re-openings May 15. But the state has not specified yet exactly what would be allowed.
Commissioners Kaety Jacobson and Doug Hunt pressed health department deputy director Nicole Fields to get clarification on what the county can do alone and what it has to do as part of the six-county region.
“It’s confusing as to what steps are regional and what are county,” Jacobson said. “It needs to be clearer.”
Health department spokeswoman Susan Trachsel said later Monday that the health department directors of the six counties are scheduled to meet Thursday with representatives of the governor’s office.
“Hopefully we can get some better information then,” Trachsel said.
Fields told commissioners that Lincoln County could meet the state’s requirements for coronavirus testing because Samaritan Health Services now has the capability to test 150 people a week. The problem, she said, is getting more people – now including those without symptoms – to get referrals from their doctors.
“We just need to get more people approved for testing,” Fields said.
According to a county document on meeting state benchmarks:
- The health department has the required amount of people trained to trace contacts by people who test positive;
- Hospitals in Newport and Lincoln City are meeting requirements to have a 14-day supply of personal protective equipment, even as they slowly re-open for elective procedures;
- The county has applied for a federal grant to pay for housing for up to 100 people if they test positive for coronavirus but have nowhere to quarantine for two weeks;
- And, is ready to alert businesses when the state finishes guidelines on employee and consumer safety.
“There has been a lot of public concern that we’re not working on re-opening,” Jacobson said. “I think we’re working extremely hard both in understanding the criteria and making sure we can meet them.”
Commissioners also pressed for more concrete ways the county – or some kind of countywide effort – can help small businesses or individuals who are not getting or have given up getting federal grants or loans.
Jacobson said the county has to find ways to use the lodging taxes it collects to help tourist-oriented businesses survive. Lincoln City started a program last week using motel taxes; the Newport City Council was expected to do something similar Monday night.
“We need a reopening plan with assistance to businesses,” said Commissioner Claire Hall. “I feel a lot of businesses aren’t getting federal help or have given up. That’s where the county can come in.”
Commissioners also heard:
- The health department and Samaritan will undertake a pilot program in mid-May to test everyone on the Newport-based fishing fleet. “It’s going to be our first large-scale testing of asymptomatic workers,” Fields said.
- Health department officials are worried about an influx of workers at fish processing plants when the hake season starts. Two fish processing plants in Astoria were shut this weekend when 13 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Bu the five assisted living centers in the county have so far averted any cases. Statewide, half of all deaths have been in nursing homes.
- The county has received approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to recover some of its coronavirus costs, but has not been told how much that will be.
- David Price, director of the small business development program at Oregon Coast Community College, estimates that 30 percent of small businesses in the county will fail if they can’t reopen by mid-May. “And that will climb if we get into June,” he said.
- That Chris Chandler, communications director for Central Lincoln Peoples Utility District, was brought on as a volunteer to help the county with a marketing plan once businesses reopen and people are allowed to visit.