Washington County adapts to life under moderate risk March 02 2021
Restaurants, fitness centers and more are allowed to up their capacity this week as COVID-19 cases continue to fall.
The coronavirus picture keeps improving in Washington County, where businesses are now being allowed to relax health and safety protocols a little further still.
Gov. Kate Brown declared Washington County, as well as neighboring Clackamas County, to be at moderate risk of COVID-19 community spread as of Friday, Feb. 26.
The move down from high risk came just two weeks after the most stringent restrictions were rolled back, following about two months during which Washington County was considered to be at an extreme risk level.
February 25 2021
Officials say numbers are declining even though it is too soon to see the effects of vaccinations.
In the week ending Feb. 21, the Oregon Health Authority said COVID-19 related hospitalizations dropped 42% and deaths decreased from 114 to just 17 the lowest weekly death toll since the week of June 29, 2020.
OHSU officials said they ve also seen a dramatic decrease in COVID-19 related hospitalizations. As of Tuesday, they had seven COVID patients, with one in the Hillsboro Medical Center and four at Portland Adventist.
The downward trend of hospitalizations follows the prediction model and time course expected after the holidays. Officials said it is still too early to see the impact from the vaccinations taking place.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue opening vaccination site in Wilsonville
This article was updated from its original version.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue will vaccinate qualified residents and employees working for county and city governments at the Clackamas Community College campus near Town Center.
The facility will open starting Monday, Feb. 22 and run Monday through Friday. Stefan Myers, a TVF&R public affairs officer, said 850 people are scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine this week. A lot of the vaccines in our tri-county area are going to the Portland Convention Center or the drive-through at the airport. For our community this is a great resource especially for community members who can t access those options in Portland very easily, Clackamas County Public Health Director Philip Mason-Joyner said.
Workers hopeful after union vote at Hillsboro Medical Center
In January, nearly 450 workers formed a union at the OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center.
A once-in-a-century pandemic has made the past year a frightening time to work in a hospital.
But Shellie Powers, a patient access representative in the emergency room at the OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center, said she s more hopeful than ever that she ll have the support she needs as a frontline healthcare worker going forward.
In January, 450 workers at the downtown Hillsboro hospital, formerly known as Tuality Community Hospital, formed a union under Oregon AFSCME Council 75.
Of 225 mail-in ballots cast, 164 people voted in favor of unionizing.