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Twelve counties, including possibly Lane, are at risk of moving back into the ‘extreme risk’ category, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Friday.
That means restaurants and bars would have to shut down indoor dining, and gyms and indoor entertainment spaces would have to significantly reduce capacity.
Twelve counties already qualify for ‘extreme risk,’ but the state changed its metrics. Counties will not be given ‘extreme risk’ status unless there are 300 or more COIVD-19 patients occupying hospital beds statewide as well as a 15% increase in the seven-day hospitalization average over the past week.
As of Thursday, 283 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, and officials said they expect the number to rise to 300 by early next week.
For a county the size of Lane to qualify for extreme risk, the county must have a rate of 200 or more cases per 100,000 over 14 days, Jason Davis, Lane County Public Health spokesperson, said.
“Our case count per 100,000 is 270,” Davis said. “So we anticipate being one of the counties to move up to extreme risk.”
He added the county has been communicating with local businesses to warn them about the changes that may soon come.
Oregon has been at the lower end of states for the number of cases per capita through most of the…
