Multnomah County Tracking Efforts Toward Reopening

UPDATE (2:42 p.m. PT) — Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties — all in the Portland metro area — are the only counties in the state that have not yet applied for Gov. Kate Brown's phase one reopening plan.

Multnomah County leaders Thursday announced a variety of requirements the county is working toward to reopen safely.

The county announced a new data dashboard laying out the state's requirements for reopening as well as its own additional imposed requirements — including reducing the impact of coronavirus on communities of color.

“Everyone is anxious to reopen businesses and to resume activity,” Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury said in a Thursday press conference. “Everyday people are asking me ‘When are we going to get back to normal?’ But the reality is until we have a widely available vaccine for COVID-19, we are not going back to normal.”

The county has already met the threshold for requirements like a 14-day decline in coronavirus hospital admissions as well as meeting testing and healthcare capacity.

It is still working towards metrics including adequate contact tracing and securing sufficient personal protective equipment for first responders.

Oregon tops 3,400 confirmed coronavirus cases

The Oregon Health Authority Thursday reported 67 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the state’s total positive cases to 3,407.

Health officials Thursday reported no new presumptive cases. Those are people who have not tested positive but have coronavirus symptoms and have had close contact with someone confirmed to be infected with the virus.

Officials Thursday also reported three new coronavirus-related deaths. In Oregon, 137 people are known to have died from COVID-19.

OHA details those deaths as:

A 66-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on April 11 and died on May 13 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center. He had underlying medical conditions.
A 61-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on April 22 and died on May 12 at Oregon Health & Science University. He had underlying medical conditions.
A 66-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on March 29 and died on May 4 at Providence St Vincent's Medical Center. He had underlying medical conditions.

Oregon COVID-19 Map

Jacob Fenton, The Accountability Project at the Investigative Reporting Workshop

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Clark County approaches 400 confirmed cases

In Southwest Washington, Clark County Public Health announced four new confirmed cases of coronavirus Thursday, bringing the county’s total number of known cases to 399.

No additional deaths were reported Thursday. In total, 24 people are known to have died of COVID-19 in Clark County.

According to the most recently available data from the Washington Department of Health, the state of Washington has 17,512 confirmed coronavirus cases and 975 coronavirus-related deaths.

At least 8 Oregon State Parks have reopened beach access

More of Oregon’s state parks are reopening, with 17 now permitting day-use access along the south coast this week. Eight of those locations have beach access.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has gradually, and without any public announcements, been reopening parks with limited day access on a daily basis. This soft-launch reopening strategy is meant to ease the public back in and avoid overcrowding.

Of the 17 parks that have so far reopened along the south coast, eight have beach access. Those parks are: Tseriadun State Recreation Site, Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint, Humbug Mountain State Park, Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint, Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, Bullards Beach State Park, McVay Rock State Recreation Site, and Sunset Bay State Park.

OPRD requirements to reopen parks include community readiness, staff readiness and if they can safely manage the park to protect the public health of visitors and staff. State officials have been calling on residents to stay within 50 miles of their homes when considering a state park as a recreation destination.

There are now over 70 reopened Oregon state parks including the popular cycling destination Banks-Vernonia State Trail in rural Washington County, and Smith Rock State Park, Farewell Bend State Recreation Area and Deschutes River State Recreation Area in Central Oregon. More state parks are expected to reopen soon.

Oregon receives 14,100 new unemployment claims

The Oregon Employment Department reported Thursday that it received 14,100 initial claims for unemployment benefits last week. The agency said it has received a total of 396,000 initial claims since coronavirus closures began in mid-March.

The agency said 86% of the initial claims for regular unemployment benefits it received between March 15 and May 9 have been processed.

“For each of the past five weeks, more claims for regular benefits have been processed than received in Oregon,” the department said.

Still, tens of thousands of unemployment claims remain unprocessed — some for six or seven weeks, the agency said.

The Employment Department said it is continuing to expand its capacity. It currently has 690 employees processing claims.

Some Oregon cities and counties approved to begin reopening

Some of Oregon's largest cities can begin partially reopening their economies on Friday, officials there said Thursday.

Hours before Gov. Kate Brown was set to unveil a list of counties that have met criteria to reopen bars, restaurants, personal services businesses and malls, officials at both Deschutes and Lane counties told OPB they have been approved.

Officials in Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Lake, Wasco, Crook and Douglas counties had all been given word they were approved to enter phase one of Brown’s reopening framework, officials told OPB.

That list almost certainly doesn’t capture the full scope of counties that Brown is set to announce Thursday.

Oregon releases guidance on child care facilities reopening

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued new guidelines for child care centers Wednesday to provide more flexibility as parts of the state’s economy reopen, though some standards remain the same as what had been previously required under “emergency rules.”

Oregon Releases Final Guidance On Child Care Facilities Reopening Under Coronavirus

When Brown ordered on March 23 that child care centers had to either operate under new rules or close, more than 40% of centers in the state shut down.

Since then, Oregon’s Early Learning Division opened up grant opportunities for emergency centers.

Brown’s new rules, effective May 15, maintain the same child-to-adult ratios as the state-mandated for emergency centers and continue to prioritize care for the children of essential workers. But, centers “may also serve all families who return to work in phased reopening.”