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PRESS RELEASE

The Oregon Health Authority notified Baker County that the county is now on the list of counties on a “two-week pause” of social activities. This takes effect November 11 and lasts through November 25. On Friday, November 6, Governor Kate Brown announced that new measures pausing social activities to help stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 would be implemented in counties that were experiencing an increase in community transmission. For Baker County, the decision to be placed on a two-week pause comes on the heels of a weekly total of 37 cases occurring between November 1-November 7. Baker County experienced its highest daily total of 13 cases on November 4.

Governor Brown stated, “The Two-Week Pause measures are designed to reduce the number of people we interact with and the frequency of those encounters.” These measures include: reducing restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff), urging businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible, limiting social gatherings to your household or no more than 6 people if the gathering includes those from outside your household. Governor Brown’s full remarks can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-q7KEAXEcryFx6pGoNRsvrM4DTWTLdGs/view. These measures will replace the County Watch List process that was implemented in July.

Local contact tracers have discovered that the majority of the spread is occurring during social gatherings with family and friends. Previously, Oregon Health Authority guidance limited the capacity of indoor social get-togethers to ten people. An indoor social get-together is defined as: “a group of individuals meeting for a common social or recreational purpose indoors.” These may include indoor dinner parties, potlucks, birthday parties, or other similar indoor gatherings.

The two-week pause measures will apply to counties that are experiencing a case 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. Counties being placed on the Two-Week Pause include: Jackson, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Umatilla, Baker, Clackamas, Union and Washington.

Commissioner Mark Bennett says, “This is a sobering reminder that COVID-19 is spreading quickly in our community. Although many may be experiencing pandemic fatigue and ready for this to be over, please remain vigilant and continue to protect yourself and those around you. Wear your mask, wash your hands and maintain at least six feet of distance from those who aren’t part of your household. A healthy community is critical to keeping our businesses open and our children in school.”

PRESS RELEASE

Baker County regrets to report that the Oregon Health Authority has given notice of a third COVID-19 related death of a Baker County resident. Our hearts go out to the family and friends who have lost a loved one.

The Oregon Health Authority reported on October 22, “Oregon’s 636th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man in Baker County who tested positive on Oct. 4 and died on Oct. 18, at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Idaho. He had underlying conditions.”

Nancy Staten, Baker County Health Department Director, says, “I want to extend our condolences and deepest sympathy to the friends and family. This is such a difficult announcement to make. Please stay diligent about taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, it’s absolutely our community’s best defense.”

To protect the privacy and well-being of the family, and to maintain compliance with health information privacy regulations, no further information about the individual will be released by the County. We encourage everyone to be respectful as a family in our community grieves.

PRESS RELEASE

Eight additional COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday. The cases are connected to Meadowbrook Place, and were detected as part of weekly testing Meadowbrook Place conducts of all staff and residents as part of its COVID-19 response. This resulted in some additional residents testing positive last week. The residents who tested positive are currently asymptomatic AND will remain on COVID-19 precautions to prevent further spread. The residents and staff who previously tested positive are recovering well. Meadowbrook Place has continued to consult with Baker County Health Department, the state licensing agency, and their management company for guidance on managing the situation at the assisted living community. Meadowbrook Place continues to follow the state and federal infection control guidelines for COVID-19 in order to safeguard the health and well-being of their residents and staff.

The Oregon Health Authority weekly report listed Meadowbrook Place as having 16 cases associated with the outbreak as of August 30. These additional cases will bring the total to 24 or more.

Baker County Health Department Director Nancy Staten says, “The cases reported over the weekend are connected and are not considered sporadic cases, meaning they can be traced back to a specific source.”