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May 15 is the first day Oregon Gov. Kate Brown can imagine rural counties reopening if they have not been impacted by many COVID-19 cases, she said in a press conference today.
She did not offer a timetable for Portland and other major cities.
Instead, she gave general criteria that Oregon counties would need to meet in order for their nonessential businesses to reopen. Brown didn't provide all the details of what would be required.
But a draft plan, obtained by WW, outlines six criteria for allowing counties to reopen. The criteria include declining cases, significant testing capacity, a system in place for tracing cases, isolation facilities, adequate health care resources, and adequate masks, gowns and other personal protective devices.
Notably, the draft mentions two criteria that have not yet been met in Portland or elsewhere.
The plan requires counties to have a place residents who test positive can go—that is, "hotel rooms available for people who test positive for COVID-19 and who cannot self-isolate." Portland has designated a hotel to shelter homeless people exhibiting symptoms, but it appears the governor would require hotel rooms for a broader section of the population.
It also requires testing everyone at a jail, prison, nursing home or any other group setting where one person tests positive for COVID-19. In the past, the Oregon Health Authority has denied such mass testing was necessary.
And the draft plan requires "frequent tests of frontline and essential workers and industries where workers may not be able to practice optimal physical distancing."
The governor wants each county to be able to test 30 people per 10,000 residents a week. Statewide, that equates to fewer than 15,000 tests a week.
Brown will also require 15 contact tracers for every 100,000 people in each county. (That's roughly equivalent to the 600 workers the state says are being brought online to do that work.) The goal laid out in the draft: "Every county must be prepared to contact trace 95% of all new cases within 24 hours." That means, in 95 percent of cases, the state must have the capacity to learn who the person infected with COVID-19 has been in contact with while they were contagious.
Sen. Brian Boquist (R-Dallas) says that "some of the smaller and rural counties should be able to meet these thresholds today," adding it "could happen now in many rural counties," suggesting a timeline of "days, not two weeks."
Brown's office says she'll meet with leaders of each county to discuss a timetable.
"Gov. Brown made clear today that our efforts to move forward with safely reopening Oregon will be gradual, incremental, and based on science and data," says Brown spokeswoman Liz Merah. "The prerequisites for counties to begin the process of reopening are based on that approach. The governor and her team will hold a series of meetings with counties to discuss the criteria for reopening, and we look forward to their input and ongoing collaboration."