Oregon coronavirus restrictions: Gov. Kate Brown issues new rules on businesses as state struggles to control spread

Close up of Oregon's governor Kate Brown wearing glasses, maroon blazer and pink scarf with a black microphone in the foreground

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday announced new restrictions on businesses aimed at regaining control over the spread of COVID-19. This file photo shows the governor at a May press conference. Beth Nakamura/Staff

Businesses and community gathering places across Oregon will face tighter restrictions starting Friday as state leaders and public health officials attempt to regain control over the spread of coronavirus.

Indoor venues such as restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters and houses of worship must limit occupancy to 100 people, down from 250, Gov. Kate Brown announced during a press briefing Wednesday morning. And restaurants and bars will have to close by 10 p.m. instead of midnight in counties that are in Phase 2 of reopening, which covers much of the state. Lincoln, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties are still in Phase 1.

Although Oregon is not shutting down gyms as California and Arizona have done, all Oregonians must wear masks when they go to the gym beginning on Friday. That eliminates a previous face covering exemption for people strenuously exercising indoors.

The governor also announced that children ages 5 and older must wear masks in public starting Friday. That mandate covers indoor public places, such as malls and schools, plus outdoors when children and adults cannot maintain 6 feet of distance.

Oregonians ages 12 and older have been required to wear masks at indoor public places since July 1 and the governor announced last week a mask requirement for crowded outdoor places, along with a ban on indoor social gatherings of more than 10 people.

“Some people will hear this announcement and think these restrictions don’t go far enough,” Brown said, reading from prepared comments. “They’ll say we should completely close all restaurants and bars, or move them to outdoor service only. They are legitimately worried about their family, their friends and their neighbors. Others will hear the news and think these restrictions go too far and are too onerous.”

Brown said Wednesday she is considering limiting tourism from other states into Oregon, particularly for people coming from coronavirus hotspots elsewhere in the nation. Officials in her administration are talking with leaders in neighboring states about options including “mandatory quarantine for people coming here from hot spots.”

Oregon has one of the lowest COVID-19 case rates in the nation, with data compiled from state and local health agencies by The New York Times showing the state is 45th in the nation since the beginning of the pandemic. But Oregon’s infection rate has increased in recent weeks and the state’s case rate for the last week is now 36th in the nation, meaning the disease is spreading more quickly here than in New York.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger said there were more than 2,400 new cases in the last week, a 26 percent increase from previous week.

“The bad news is our sporadic cases are growing,” Sidelinger said. “These are people who became infected with COVID-19 and we don’t know where they got it.” These untraceable infections accounted for nearly half of Oregon’s cases as of last week, The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported, and Sidelinger said Wednesday that “means the virus is circulating even more than we’d hoped.”

“In particular, we’re concerned about some of our rural and eastern Oregon counties that have some of the highest rates of community spread right now,” Sidelinger said.

The governor said counties with the most concerning rates of coronavirus spread might face additional scrutiny or restrictions in coming days.

Wednesday was the first time Brown held a media briefing and took questions from reporters in more than a week, and one journalist asked if she would consider holding more frequent press briefings as governors including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are doing. Brown held daily briefings early in the pandemic but stopped near the end of March. In recent weeks, she announced some far-reaching coronavirus policies including pausing county reopenings in press releases, while scheduling interviews with specific news organizations such as the video site Cheddar that focuses on trending news.

By lowering the age requirement for face coverings, Brown is bringing Oregon closer to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which says children ages 2 and older should wear masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Oregon’s current requirement for masks starting at age 12 was an outlier among states with face-covering mandates, most of which started at much younger ages, The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported.

“I don’t make these decisions lightly and there are no easy choices,” Brown said. “It’s up to all of us to do our part to look out for one another. Oregon, we are going to get through this together.”

The governor tried to drive home to Oregonians how tenuous the state’s economic reopening is, two months after she lifted the stay-home order that helped prevent the state from getting swamped with COVID-19 cases early in the pandemic.

“It may still be possible for us to keep restaurants and shops open, to gather in groups, to continue to hike, camp, and go to parks,” the governor said. “But it all depends on you. Your choices determine our future. If we don’t slow the spread of the virus, I will have no choice but to force widespread and difficult closures again.”

Reporter Aimee Green contributed to this story.

-- Hillary Borrud: hborrud@oregonian.com; @hborrud

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