Coronavirus in Oregon (May 14): Governor will announce counties allowed to reopen

Gov. Kate Brown will announce on Thursday morning which counties will be allowed to begin slowly reopening their economies as soon as Friday.

All but three of Oregon’s 36 counties have submitted plans to gradually lift the governor’s stay-home restrictions. The state’s three largest counties have yet to apply. Multnomah County health officials will explain the steps they are taking toward reopening at a Thursday afternoon press conference.

Every county must meet specific public health criteria in order to enter Phase 1 of the governor’s reopening plan.

Return to OregonLive.com at 10 a.m. to watch the livestream of Brown’s announcement and at 1 p.m. to watch the Multnomah County press conference.

Here are more developments to know:

REOPENING: One reason Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties haven’t applied to reopen? At least two counties are still trying to hire enough contact tracers to track the spread of the virus. Some people are planning a protest on the coast in response to the ongoing restrictions.

Reopening Oregon: Can I travel for a haircut? Your personal services questions, answered

The new guidelines resulted in a lot of questions. Here are some of those questions, answered by experts.

CASES: State public health officials confirmed Oregon’s first case of a childhood illness linked to coronavirus that can be deadly. The girl is among the 3,400 Oregonians who have contracted COVID-19. The death toll from disease climbed to 134.

JOBS: An influential Oregon lawmaker, Oregon House majority leader Barbara Smith Warner, called on the state to take immediate action to resolve its long backlog of unpaid jobless claims. The pressure comes the same day a key Central Oregon employer announced 211 job cuts.

Q&A on Oregon’s unemployment benefits fiasco: where things went wrong

Tens of thousands of jobless claims remain unprocessed, many dating back more than a month, and the phones remain hopelessly overloaded. The state owes hundreds of millions of dollars to laid-off Oregonians.

HELP: In response to the mayor’s proposed budget, many Portlanders say the city should funnel more money toward helping for renters affected by the coronavirus.

CARE: Oregon’s coronavirus hospitalizations have plummeted, partly because of people dying. Still, emergency room doctors believe the supply of protective equipment remains dangerously low.

OHSU doctor’s viral dance videos get more national attention on CBS special

Jason Campbell a resident physician in anesthesiology in Portland, has won national attention for TikTok videos in which he and OHSU colleagues dance in the hallways.

RESPONSE: Starting Monday, anyone at Portland International Airport will be required to wear a face covering. Many Portland-area grocery stores also now require shoppers to wear face masks. A face-mask requirement did not slow down business at Troutdale ice cream spot Sugarpine. It sold 1,000 ice cream sundaes on Mother’s Day.

LIFE TODAY: The annual Oregon Book Awards ceremony, recognizing the best in Oregon literature, will take to the air waves in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

#TEAMOREGON:

Riverdale High School sophomore helps essential workers with virtual tutoring

Vittoria Corvelli's non-profit matches older students with younger ones needing help with classes.

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