By YachatsNews.com
Lincoln County and four others across Oregon will move permanently Friday to the state’s lowest risk category for business and social restrictions after vaccinating 65 percent of its residents age 16 and older.
Gov. Kate Brown made the announcement Tuesday, the first week counties could move to low risk if they met the state’s vaccination goal and if a vaccine “equity” plan was submitted and accepted. The others were Benton, Deschutes, Hood River, and Washington counties.
As of Tuesday, Lincoln County had vaccinated 65.1 percent of the eligible population. This includes 26,997 individuals whose vaccination’s record has been entered into the state system and 558 people who have been vaccinated by a federal organization, such as the Veteran’s Administration, health officials said.
Data released earlier Tuesday by the Oregon Health Authority showed Lincoln, Deschutes and Washington counties were a little short of the 65 percent threshold Brown set earlier this month for COVID-19 restrictions to be relaxed. But Brown said Tuesday afternoon that once the state factored in vaccine doses administered at federal facilities and vaccination events, those three counties cleared the bar.
“This is great work by our Public Health staff, partners and volunteers that all worked collaboratively to achieve this extraordinary accomplishment,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Doug Hunt.
The five counties also fulfilled Brown’s requirement to submit an “equity plan” to demonstrate how they’ll improve vaccination rates among demographics that are lagging behind the general population.
Going to the state’s “low risk” category keeps bar and restaurant capacity at 50 percent, but allows them to stay open until midnight. Indoor social gatherings can have up to 10 people from four households. Indoor theaters, aquariums, arenas, museums, and indoor recreation can increase their capacity from 20 percent to 50 percent, and churches can go from 50 percent to 75 percent capacity. Employers can return to offering “limited” office space for workers.
Lincoln County health officials said they still have a goal to reach 70 percent of eligible people vaccinated by the end of June, and 80 percent vaccinated by the end of the summer. Clinics are held each week in Lincoln County to help meet this goal, all of which accept walk-ins. Pharmacies also continue to provide vaccines with some also allowing walk-ins.
To find clinics or pharmacies that have the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the county website at https://www.co.lincoln.or.us/hhs/page/covid-19-vaccination-clinics.
Mask rules “clarified” as well
The Oregon Health Authority also issued new and clarified guidance Tuesday for face masks.
Oregon will allow people to go maskless outside but will require them to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — and be able to prove it — to forgo masks in most public indoor settings.
Oregonians will no longer be required to wear masks in public outdoor areas, regardless of their vaccination status, under the new guidance. However, the state is still recommending that people wear masks in crowds and large gatherings, especially if they are unvaccinated or at high risk for COVID-19.
The state will also allow fully vaccinated people to forgo masks in most indoor spaces if their inoculation status can be verified, putting the onus on businesses, employers and faith institutions to check vaccination records.
The new guidance comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that fully vaccinated people generally do not need to wear masks or maintain physical distance in most public settings. Masks had been required in most circumstances across all of Oregon since July 1.
Some states have responded cautiously to the new guidance and have not yet lifted mask mandates. However, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s health officer and epidemiologist, said he wasn’t specifically aware of other states that had adopted similar “vaccine passport” requirements as Oregon has opted to do.
Sidelinger said vaccinated individuals will be required to show their vaccine cards, or provide a photocopy or photo of their vaccine cards, to forgo masks in public indoor settings.
He said the new guidance would be enforced by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division and other state agencies, but added that the state was not expecting businesses to determine the authenticity of customers’ vaccine records.
“We hope that Oregonians will not lie or cheat and put others at risk by forging a vaccine record if they aren’t vaccinated,” Sidelinger said.
Oregon will still require all people, including those who have been fully vaccinated, to wear masks and maintain physical distance on public transportation and in schools, healthcare facilities, homeless shelters, long-term care homes and correctional institutions.
Businesses and venue operators that don’t want to check vaccination cards, or that want to maintain more restrictive policies, will still be allowed to require masks at their discretion, according to the state.
“They can continue to serve their customers and have their employees wear masks in these settings,” Sidelinger said. “For a business that wants to serve their customers in a different way by allowing them to remove their masks if they’re fully vaccinated, or have their staff be able to remove their mask if they’re fully vaccinated, they need to institute a system where individuals can share their vaccination status.”
Sidelinger said that the state will reevaluate its mask guidance and other health restrictions when 70% of the state’s residents 16 and older have been vaccinated, echoing a roadmap laid out by Gov. Kate Brown earlier this month.
“I would anticipate a significant change in our guidance as we reach that 70% threshold,” Sidelinger said.
— The Oregonian/OregonLive and Pamplin Media contributed to this report
