Just in time for the holidays, Lincoln County moved Friday into the state’s “extreme risk” category because of a four-week spike in COVID-19 cases, adding tighter restrictions on people and businesses.
Those new restrictions include:
- No more inside dining at restaurants, although smaller ones shut down Thursday until early January;
- Indoor and outdoor social and at-home gatherings are supposed to have no more than six people, preferably from no more than two households;
- Retail stores and malls are supposed to limit customers to 50 percent of capacity.
Under the state of Oregon’s new four-risk level metric, the tighter restrictions will last at least until Dec. 31, but will likely last far into January because of the big increase in cases and another surge expected after the holidays.
The county has had 143 COVID-19 cases in the two weeks since Dec. 1 – now averaging 10 new cases a day — pushing it from the state’s less restrictive “high” category and into the “extreme.”
The number for moving from high to extreme is 200 cases per 100,000 population. This week Lincoln County’s rate was 301 per 100,000.
Lincoln County is one of five counties – four of them from the coast — that moved into the extreme category Friday. In addition to neighboring Benton County, the others were Tillamook, Clatsop, Coos and Curry. Lane County was already classified as an “extreme” risk.
The only areas to move to a lower risk category were three rural counties – Lake, Grant and Harney – which dropped to “moderate” or “low.”
Although there have been some business outbreaks at places like the now-closed Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln County Public Health officials say the month-long surge in cases is mostly due to smaller workplace outbreaks and social gatherings.
The expectation is that case numbers will rise again 7-14 days after Christmas and New Years’ celebrations.
“We continue to see community spread across Oregon to the point that the majority of the state needs to continue with strict health and safety measures,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday. “Until we reduce the spread and have high participation in vaccination, all Oregonians need to follow the guidelines in place in their counties.”
The Oregon Health Authority examines and publishes county data weekly. County risk levels are reassigned every two weeks. The first week’s data provide a “warning week” to prepare counties for potential risk level changes. The next assignment of risk levels will take effect Jan. 1.
The longer list of restrictions includes:
- Social and at-home gatherings with people from outside your household will be limited to a maximum of six people, with a recommended limit of two households.
- Outdoor dining and takeout for restaurants, bars, and other eating and drinking establishments, which will be limited to a maximum of 50 people outdoors, with only six people per table. Take-out is strongly encouraged.
- Indoor recreation, fitness, and entertainment establishments, including gyms, will remain closed, however, outdoor recreation, fitness, and entertainment activities, including outdoor gym activities, will be allowed, with a maximum limit of 50 people outdoors.
- Retail stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, and indoor and outdoor shopping centers and malls will be limited to a maximum of 50% of capacity, with curbside pick-up encouraged.
- Faith institutions, funeral homes, mortuaries, and cemeteries will be limited to a maximum of 25% of capacity or 100 people indoors (whichever is smaller), or 150 people outdoors.
- Office workplaces will be required to utilize remote work to the maximum extent possible, with public-facing offices closed to the public.
- Personal services businesses will be allowed to continue to operate with health and safety measures in place.
- Long-term care facilities can allow limited outdoor visitation, following established health and safety protocols.
Case investigators in Lincoln County have been keeping up with all new investigative interviews with all COVID cases and are checking in daily with 150 people.
