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The week Oregon tightened restrictions, and daily CV19 deaths hit an all time high, 50+ Republican state lawmakers and county officials asked Democratic Gov. Kate Brown to let locals decide if restaurants, bars, schools & churches stay open. 1/17
The coalition shows Gov. Brown will have a difficult time getting areas to comply with her exec. orders, even as hospital beds east of the Cascades fill with sick patients, and many health leaders support the restrictions. (sign seen in Praire City in June) 2/17
The elected officials asking Gov. Brown to reverse course represent 22 Oregon counties, which together = about half of the state’s coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and slightly more than half of all reported deaths, according to state data reviewed Nov. 18. 3/17
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Vale, SD 30) points out he and his colleagues aren’t demanding specific policies: “It comes from a sense of frustration of being absolutely shut out and just handed down what you can and cannot do,” said the Republican from Malheur County. 4/17
Sen. Findley reps areas with some of the state’s lowest cases, but other places with the highest rates of infection. “We’re not having the issue of dealing with hospital capacity...Our overflow is in Idaho, and they’re having some capacity issues.” Meanwhile in Idaho...5/17
“Idaho has taken a completely different approach. Whether that’s good, bad, or indifferent, I don’t know. Ask me in a couple of years and I’ll tell you all about it,” Sen. Findley said. 6/17 https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/coronavirus/article247210669.html
For all of Central and much of Eastern Oregon, severely ill COVID-19 patients are funneled to one hospital in Bend. Its average number of daily COVID-19 patients doubled this month, according to St. Charles Chief Operating Officer Iman Simmons. 7/17
“We have been asked to accept about a half a dozen patients from other parts of the state,” St. Charles COO Simmons said. The Bend hospital is a regional hub for all kinds of acute medical attention. There are 30 ICU beds in the metro area, serving the whole region. 8/17
Some 200 miles southeast of Bend, Lake District hospital is one of many small, rural facilities sending acutely ill patients to St. Charles. Chief executive officer Charles Tveit said he also supports the governor’s latest round of restrictions, too. 9/17
“In our rural and remote settings like Eastern Oregon, it is easier to believe that we’re not susceptible,” said the CEO of a critical access hospital in Lake County. “But a couple of weeks ago, we did have a burst of positive tests from a birthday party, about 11 people.” 10/17
In Deschutes County, where virus cases have sharply increased since the end of October, two commissioners signed the letter urging Brown to back off her executive orders. 11/17
Commissioner Tony DeBone was among a dozen elected leaders from central and eastern Oregon who met unannounced during the first wave of restrictions, maskless, to discuss how to undermine the governor’s lockdown. 12/17 https://www.opb.org/news/article/rural-oregon-leaders-mull-covid-19-restrictions-revolt/
9 of the electeds who went to Prairie City are now part of the broad rural coalition asking Brown to meet and “consider a more realistic approach.”
DeBone (pictured in June with Jefferson Co.'s Mae Hutson) said he now supports a mask mandate. 13/17
DeBone (pictured in June with Jefferson Co.'s Mae Hutson) said he now supports a mask mandate. 13/17
“Our authority basically has been usurped by the governor,” Deschutes Commissioner DeBone said. He also called the recent surge in cases “a serious medical situation." 14/17
For examples: Kayla Jeffrey, who bought the Pump House Bar and Grill in Terrebonne seven weeks ago. She said they installed expensive plexiglass and imposed limited capacity.
“We really wanted to kind of see if we could work around the risk,” Jeffrey said. 15/17
“We really wanted to kind of see if we could work around the risk,” Jeffrey said. 15/17
Jeffrey said her own daughter contracted CV19 & recovered in abt 2 weeks. Another daughter has a compromised immune system: “My daughter has the responsibility to protect herself. I do not feel that the community that she puts herself into is responsible for protecting her."16/17
One stop shop 17/17 https://www.opb.org/article/2020/11/20/amid-virus-spike-oregon-lawmakers-ask-governor-to-lift-restrictions/
