COVID restrictions for 15 counties to decrease, indoor dining to open
Marion, Polk and 13 other counties will move out of the most extreme COVID-19 restrictions beginning Friday, May 7, Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday.
That means restaurants can again open indoor dining, gyms and indoor entertainment spaces can significantly increase capacity, and social gatherings can expand.
Fifteen of Oregon’s 36 counties moved into the “extreme risk” category of Brown’s four-level system of restrictions on April 30, after the state surpassed a trigger of 300 COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide.
Since then, hospitalizations have continued to increase, with 345 COVID-19 patients reported statewide Tuesday. But the statewide seven-day average increase for hospitalized patients dropped below 15%. Both triggers must be met for counties to remain in “extreme risk.”
“Let me be clear: across the state, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are still high, and Oregon is not out of the woods yet,” Brown said in a news release.
Republican lawmakers, Marion and Polk county officials, and local businesses criticized Brown’s move last week to shut down indoor dining and restrict capacity at gyms and indoor entertainment spaces.
“I know this will bring relief to many across the state,” Brown said. “However, the lifting of extreme risk health and safety measures comes with great personal responsibility for us all. If Oregonians continue to keep up their guard, follow high-risk health and safety measures, and get vaccinated as fast as possible, we should see our COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates decline.”
Get vaccinated:How to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Marion and Polk counties
Oregon ranks fourth in the nation for states where the virus is spreading the fastest, according to an analysis by The New York Times. That’s an improvement from last week, when it was first.
As of Tuesday, 32% of people in Oregon were fully vaccinated. That’s the same as the national average.
Effective Friday, 24 counties will be at high risk, four at moderate risk and eight at lower risk.
Tracy Loew is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at [email protected], 503-399-6779 or on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew. Support local journalism by subscribing to the Statesman Journal.
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