The restaurant laid off all of its employees, a few of whom work limited-hour shifts selling growler refills, and will be closed until dine-in eating resumes, according to owners Tim and Jennifer Guenther. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in … She said that by percentage of population, Oregon has administered about the same number of vaccinations as other states and distribution will continue to ramp up quickly. To reopen, the county needed to keep its test positivity rate below 5% for three successive weeks. This week it became the largest active workplace outbreak in the state with its reported 199 cases, with the most recent onset listed as Aug. 7. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in its weekly update on Wednesday reported a total of 21 active outbreaks in Umatilla County that have infected 725 people. There are 80 active COVID-19 workplace outbreaks in Oregon and 21 of them, more than 25% are in the Eastern Oregon county. State and local officials were alarmed by COVID-19 trends in Umatilla County over the summer, as the county outpaced the rest of the state in new cases. In total, 73 staff have tested positive, with 69 returning to work, according to prison officials. 10. The governor recently announced that meeting the metrics are no longer required to reopen in 2021, but school will likely continue to look different in the new year. Oregon State University/Contributed Photo, File, 2020 Year in Review: COVID-19 dominates life in Umatilla, Morrow counties in 2020, 2020 Year in Review: Flooding, protests highlight non-COVID stories. Interactive: Active workplace outbreaks in Umatilla County. According to the Oregon Health Authority, only 277 people have been vaccinated. Pandemic forces cancelation of 2020 Pendleton Round-Up. For comparison Clackamas County, which has more than five times the population of Umatilla County, is dealing with only seven active workplace outbreaks, totaling 136 cases. Hermiston High School students leave school on the last day of school on March 13, 2020. Statewide demographic data is available here. The Oregon Health Authority confirmed on March 2, 2020, that an adult Oregon resident from Umatilla County is the state’s third presumptive positive case of COVID-19. COVID outbreak hobbles Umatilla Tribal Fire Department. In June, the rodeo’s board of directors relented and announced that the 2020 Round-Up was canceled. Oregon’s 1557th COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on Nov. 11 and died on Jan. 3 at Providence Portland … Workplace outbreaks are contributing to Umatilla County’s high case count. They also stated the fact that the positive samples were from neighborhoods across the community showed the virus was widespread throughout the community. Lamb Weston’s plant in Hermiston closed down for deep cleaning on June 15 after an outbreak that would eventually affect nearly 200 people. Umatilla County is experiencing one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Oregon.. ... KGW created this interactive map that shows workplace outbreaks throughout the state. After reviewing the top COVID-19-related stories, we compiled a list and then pared it down to the top 10 pandemic stories. Use the 'Report' link on Umatilla County resident tests presumptive positive for coronavirus. Preliminary reports indicate the Oregon resident attended a youth basketball game in the gymnasium at Weston Middle School on Feb. 29. See the full list of … In the initial months of the pandemic, the Round-Up Association maintained the rodeo would go on as usual during the second full week of September. accounts, the history behind an article. Umatilla County staked its place in the history of the COVID-19 pandemic when it reported Oregon’s third case. COVID-19 closed schools and businesses, forced the cancelation of a number of events, including the iconic Pendleton Round-Up, the first time the event wasn’t held as scheduled since World War II. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in … Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. She had underlying conditions. Live updates as of 12-02-2020. Kate Brown due to recent outbreaks of COVID-19. The outbreak at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton grew exponentially in the weeks after it was first reported. Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center on the Umatilla Indian Reservation was the first in the county, and among the first tribes in the Northwest, to begin immunizing locals, prioritizing health care workers before moving on to tribal elders. Umatilla County has reported six workplace outbreaks since mid-June. 5. They were transported to Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington, where they tested positive. An outbreak of 37 COVID-19 cases has been reported at Lamb Weston in Umatilla County, where the company produces frozen french fries and tater tots. 1. Business continued relatively unabated in the initial days following the first case, but the status quo was fleeting. Umatilla County Public Health officials said the summer surge in Umatilla County was largely driven by people coming to work sick, and many of the Hermiston area’s largest employers saw outbreaks. week’s toll of 27. In May, with coronavirus cases seemingly under control in Umatilla County, local businesses began to reopen when Gov. Oregon put in ‘two-week freeze’ to slow rapid spread of COVID-19, The pandemic was surging across Oregon to new record-high case counts in November, and in an attempt to curb its spread, Gov. Eastern Oregon's Umatilla County has more than a quarter of the state's workplace outbreaks, totaling more than 700 cases in 21 facilities. This individual had underlying conditions. Staff wore masks and gloves, and helped customers maintain social distancing. In Umatilla County, health officials said most cases were being traced back to large social gatherings — mostly parties — that at times exceeded 50 or more people. Since then, almost all Oregon counties remain in a form of shutdown similar to that of the freeze, as reported cases, death and hospitalized continued to spike to heights that to some were once unimaginable. The case count includes all persons linked to the outbreak, which may include household members and other close contacts to an employee. The man was 75 years old, tested positive December 17 … It immediately pivoted to announcing a new initiative called Let’er Buck Cares, a charity campaign to raise money for organizations economically affected by the cancelation of the rodeo. Hermiston, in particular, had so many cases over the summer that, despite cases later spiking elsewhere in the state, as of Dec. 23 Oregon Health Authority’s data showed the Hermiston ZIP code still has still reported more cases since the start of the pandemic than any other ZIP code in the state. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in its weekly update on Wednesday reported a total of 21 active outbreaks in Umatilla County that have infected 725 people. The county has a weekly test positivity rate of … Here’s a glimpse at the top COVID-19 stories that helped shape 2020 for Umatilla and Morrow counties. UCo HealthPENDLETON, Ore. — Umatilla County Public Health reported the county’s 55th death on Wednesday as total confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 5,000 — with 200+ more suspected cases. Umatilla County has more cases of COVID-19 per capita than any other Oregon county, at 234 cases per 10,000 people. Businesses were slow to reopen due to requirements for personal protective equipment, limited capacity inside businesses, a short turnaround to prepare for reopening, and a general feeling of uncertainty and anxiety over how the community would react to bringing things back to a relative normal. The surge started at the end of May and peaked around the end of July before dropping sharply after Umatilla County was sent back to baseline restrictions on Aug. 1. The board resisted as long as it could, but eventually COVID-19 forced it to cancel the 2020 Round-Up. Behind the scenes, the Round-Up and its allies had been negotiating directly with the governor’s office to figure out a way to hold the rodeo, going as far as to draft and present a document that showed how the Round-Up would operate with health precautions. Researchers conducting the tests were met with more suspicion in Hermiston than in previous communities where the TRACE COVID-19 program had been conducted, with a reported 66% of residents who were contacted declining to participate in the free, voluntary tests. Five employees have tested positive for the virus. For the first time since World War II, Pendleton did not host a rodeo or any of the other accompanying events. Winds light and variable. Brown says. The state announced on March 2 that a man had tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a basketball game at the Weston Middle School gym. After weeks of closures due to COVID-19, local businesses began reopening their doors. Kate Brown said health officials must vaccinate state residents against COVID-19 as quickly as possible. The Oregon Health Authority’s weekly report of outbreaks of COVID-19 for Dec. 9 shows half of Umatilla and Morrow counties’ current workplace outbreaks began within two weeks after Halloween. The summer also saw a surge in deaths after the virus got into Regency Hermiston Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in an outbreak first reported on July 13, which, according to OHA, included 97 cases and 15 deaths linked to the facility. The release said the individual had underlying medical conditions. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. 6. ‘I wouldn’t put much money on that’; county health director says most schools unlikely to reopen in 2020. She spoke about her husband, who she hadn’t seen physically in over four months, and choked back tears. Kate Brown’s initial directive to close schools through the end of the month of March in an effort to quell the spread of COVID-19. Be Proactive. Umatilla County sees more positive COVID-19 test results ... worksites are on Oregon’s list of outbreak locations — Medelez Trucking and Good Shepherd Health Care System. But new … The Umatilla County Public Health Department delivers COVID-19 testing updates Monday-Friday. The barbershop, which has newly reopened, is making use of trash bags as disposable capes until they can find an alternative. PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Health Authority Friday reports there’s a COVID-19 outbreak at Columbia Basin Onion in Umatilla County. The freeze shuttered gyms, limited restaurants and bars to takeout only and closed event venues. Tracy Wart, an infection prevention nurse at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, draws up a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during the hospital’s first round of staff vaccinations on Dec. 28, 2020. While the demographic data shared is representative of COVID-19 infection in Umatilla County, the sample size of positive cases in our county is too small for statistical analysis of disease trends. Since the beginning of July, the county has registered more than 17 … Workplace outbreak being tracked at Columbia Basin Onion facility in Umatilla County Oregon reported 323 new cases of COVID-19 and Friday, Aug. 14, and two more fatalities. Brown says. Statewide, cumulative reported COVID-19 cases have reached 19,366 (45 cases per 10,000 Oregonians), and 328 Oregonians (0.8 deaths per 10,000 Oregonians) are known to have died with COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak. The five largest active outbreaks are at food processing facilities and correctional facilities. The county’s active case count was 382 people, including 44 inmates at the Washington State Penitentiary. ... A 73-year-old woman in Lane County and an 85-year-old man in Umatilla County each … Eastern Oregon's Umatilla County has more than a quarter of the state's workplace outbreaks, totaling more than 700 cases in 21 facilities. Overall, customers said they were relatively unbothered by the restrictions, as they wore masks and were asked COVID-19 screening questions. PORTLAND, Ore. — Umatilla County is still dealing with major workplace outbreaks of COVID-19, the largest being 199 cases at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. While Umatilla County makes up … Umatilla County staked its place in the history of the COVID-19 pandemic when it reported Oregon’s third case. COVID-19 RISK LEVEL – Determined by Umatilla County Public Health Department and local health authorities based on new cases, positive test rate, hospital availability.. NEW COVID CASES – New positive cases in Umatilla County as reported by the Umatilla County Public Health Department.. 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