Select counties in Oregon to pause all social activities for two weeks

Beginning November 11, social activities in Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Jackson, and Umatilla Counties will be put on pause.

Governor Kate Brown announced these measures on Friday, focusing on counties where community transmission is on the rise.

“The new public health measures to reduce spread are an effort to save lives in Oregon,” stated a news release.

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Pause measures will be in effect for two weeks, ending on November 25, and include all businesses to mandate working from home when possible, pausing long-term care facilities, reducing maximum indoor capacities to 50 people, and limiting gatherings to those in the household.

The Oregon Health Authority will examine coronavirus metrics for Washington, Baker, Union, Clackamas, and Linn counties on Monday to determine if those counties qualify. The five counties being watched are close to thresholds that would necessitate adding them to the pause — cases rate above 200 per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with less than 30,000 people.

“It is alarming that recent high case rates are not linked to any specific outbreaks, but rather reflective of sporadic community spread,” said Governor Brown. “We are seeing in real time how this virus can quickly snowball out of control. ”