In a news release late on May 4, Gov. Kate Brown announced that she is moving back the “extreme risk” categorization for 15 Oregon counties, effective Friday, May 7. The governor said she made this decision as COVID-related hospitalizations appeared to be stabilizing. Read the governor’s full statement here.
Indoor dining, bars and fitness facilities in the 15 counties were shut down last week, when Gov. Brown moved the counties into the extreme risk category. This will enable those businesses to restart, within the capacity limitations set out in the COVID guidelines.
“We appreciate that the governor is allowing these Oregon businesses to reopen,” said Sandra McDonough, OBI’s president and CEO. “Hopefully, this will be the end of the COVID business closures and we will move swiftly to fully reopening our state’s economy.”
OBI continues to urge all Oregonians to follow the COVID safety guidance around masks and social distancing and to get vaccinated. “We all have to do our part to finally control this pandemic so we can get back to life as normal, repair our economy and put people back to work,” McDonough said.