Go ahead and make those Valentine’s Day dinner reservations – Lincoln County restaurants and bars will be open for inside dining for at least another two-week period starting Friday.
For the third, two-week period in a row, restaurants, bars, theaters, gyms and other entertainment venues in Lincoln County can stay open for customers because the number of COVID-19 cases in the county continues to decline.
According to COVID-19 data released Tuesday by the Oregon Health Authority, the numbers of cases in Lincoln County have stayed low enough again to keep the area in the state’s “high risk” category.
The situation is also improving enough around Oregon that 10 counties are moving Friday from the “extreme” risk category with the tightest restrictions to the “high” or “moderate” categories. Some – like Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties in the Portland area – are moving to looser restrictions for the first time since November.
“Thanks to Oregonians who have stepped up and made smart choices, we have made incredible progress in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives in Oregon,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a news release announcing the changes. “This week we will see 10 counties move out of extreme risk, including the Portland tri-county area, for the first time since November. This is welcome news, as we’ll start to see more businesses open up and Oregonians being able to get out a bit more.”
Brown said Oregon still needs to remain vigilant against the virus, especially as a new strain emerges and until more vaccines are available.
The new two-week period begins Friday and goes through Feb. 25.
That means restaurants and bars can remain open for limited dining and that gyms, aquariums and other entertainment venues can stay open.
Lincoln County is averaging five new COVID-19 cases a day, according to data from the New York Times newspaper, and as of Monday has had just 39 new cases in February.
Placement in – or movement between — one of four “risk categories” occurs every two weeks. But each week the state lets counties know how COVID-19 numbers are doing and whether they are in jeopardy of moving into a higher category, which carries greater restrictions.
Lincoln County’s time in the current two-week “high risk” period began Jan. 15.
Neighboring Benton, Lane and Marion counties are still above the threshold and remain in the “extreme” category; Tillamook County is in the “moderate” category.
The threshold between the “high” and “extreme” categories is 200 cases per 100,000 population over a two-week period – or 100 cases in Lincoln County, which has a population of 50,000. To reach the much less restrictive “moderate” category, Lincoln County will have to have less than 50 cases over a two-week period.
