Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has slammed the brakes on the state’s reopening plans after an uptick in novel coronavirus cases, delaying business restarts even as protesters continue to gather by the thousands for Black Lives Matter marches and rallies in Portland.
At a Friday press conference, she said the state had placed a one-week freeze on all county applications to advance to the next phase of reopening after the state recorded Thursday its largest-ever daily increase in COVID-19 cases.
“This is essentially a statewide yellow light,” Ms. Brown said. “This one-week pause will give our public health experts time to assess what factors are driving the spread of the virus and determine if we need to adjust our approach to reopening.”
Her announcement came with the state’s most populous county, Multnomah County, still under the maximum “baseline” restrictions and unable to move up to “phase one,” which would allow the limited reopening of restaurants, bars, hair salons, barbershops, gyms and malls in the Portland area.
“Choke the peasants more,” tweeted the Multnomah County Republican Party.
The pause also drew contrasts between struggling small businesses required to adhere to strict social-distancing rules versus the enormous protest crowds, which the Democratic governor has supported, spurred by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
”I’ve been inspired to see tens of thousands of Oregonians raising their voices to demand justice and make it clear that #BlackLivesMatter. I stand with you,” Ms. Brown said in a Thursday post. “And I want you to stay healthy.”
She urged the protesters to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing, and while many have covered their faces, there was little evidence of social separation at Monday’s protest, which saw thousands of marchers block Interstate 84 in Portland.
Choke the peasants more. https://t.co/9BBPr7xwAp
— Multnomah County GOP (@MultnomahGOP) June 12, 2020
For those not rioting in Oregon: https://t.co/d1fmOjaUIz
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 12, 2020
Portland, Oregon peaceful protesters on I-84 is happening from BOTH directions for #BlackLivesMattter pic.twitter.com/dgFkiR8llG
— Peter Morley (@morethanmySLE) June 9, 2020
Meanwhile, the Oregon Supreme Court overturned Friday a county judge’s decision nullifying the governor’s pandemic executive orders, a challenge filed by churches and pastors arguing that the orders had expired after 28 days.
“Although there are many statutory and constitutional limits on the governor’s emergency powers during a state of emergency declared pursuant to [state statues], a declared state of emergency is not subject to a time limit of a certain number of days,” the high court said in its decision.
Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen said the state recorded 178 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the highest total ever. Positive tests increased by 75% for the week ending June 7, versus 18% in the previous week.
He said that “testing has increased, but so has the percentage of positive results,” jumping from 1.9% to 3%, and attributed the surge to the reopening process.
“There have been large gatherings across the state, some involving protests, some not,” Mr. Allen said. “It’s still not clear whether the most recent large demonstrations in Portland and other communities have resulted in the spread of coronavirus, but we will have more information in the coming days.”
State health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said that “to date we don’t have any reports of people who have tested positive who’ve attended one of these demonstrations or protests,” adding that some may be reluctant to admit that to health officials.
Officials stressed that the uptick had occurred in areas throughout the state, not just Portland, where the protests have been concentrated. Forty percent of the recent cases in Multnomah County could not be traced to a prior exposure.
“I am hoping we can get them up and running in Multnomah County as quickly as possible; however, I have to put the safety and health of Oregonians first,” Ms. Brown said. “My major concern is we are seeing a number of cases in Multnomah County that cannot be traced to a source, and that should be very concerning for all of us.”
Oregon, with a population of 4.3 million, has recorded 5,377 cases of the coronavirus and 173 deaths. The state reported Friday that another two people have died, a 96-year-old man and a 68-year-old man who had underlying medical conditions.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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