Oregon Lottery re-opens at restaurants that are still closed to in-person dining
The state made the change for restaurants in Malheur County, which remains in the extreme risk category for COVID-19 transmission. Author: Joey Prechtl Updated: 10:32 PM MST February 4, 2021
MALHEUR COUNTY, Ore. Malheur County remains in Oregon s extreme risk category for the spread of COVID-19, meaning restaurants in the county can only offer outdoor dining.
However, under a new change ordered by Gov. Kate Brown, people can go inside those very same restaurants to play the Oregon Lottery video machines. They just can t eat inside.
“We were very surprised and very confused, which has changed over into anger,” said Sara Lynch, front of house manager at Brewsky’s Broiler in Ontario.
ONTARIO
A local businessman says data in the Oregon Health Authorityâs most recent weekly outbreak report released Jan. 27 is misleading.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic has been in full swing, OHA has been releasing weekly a list of active and resolved outbreaks in schools, child care facilities, senior and congregate living settings and workplaces for every county in Oregon. The Jan. 27 report was 77 pages long and had data from the following week up to Jan. 24. When Malheur County Health Department regurgitated numbers from the list in a news release on Thursday, the agency indicated three active outbreaks in Vale and three in Ontario, with the latter including two food processing facilities and the prison. At the same time, the news release stated that numbers and dates in the report were âno longer accurate in some cases.â
VALE
According to a newsletter on Friday from Vale School District Superintendent Alisha McBride, out of an abundance of caution, all in-person instruction and activities for Vale High School students will be paused from Feb. 1 through Feb. 11. All Vale High School students will transition to distance learning. This decision stems from the fact that eight individuals who have been in the Vale High School building have tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
In-person instruction at Vale Elementary School, Vale Middle School, and Willowcreek Elementary School will continue, and buses will operate as normal.
The school district has been working closely with the Malheur County Health Department to identify close contacts of the positive individuals. While it is concerning to have eight individuals test positive in the same week, to-date, there is no evidence of COVID-19 spread in the school. Instead, it appears that the positive individuals had contact outside of the scho
Oregon school s COVID-19 closure sparks criticism against Gov. Kate Brown
Andrew Selsky and Sara Cline
Associated Press
SALEM A high school in a remote Oregon town ordered a halt to in-person classes Friday after eight people there tested positive for COVID-19, and Republican lawmakers accused the Democratic governor of prioritizing urban over rural residents for vaccine distribution.
The development in the high school in Vale, a town of 2,000 residents in Eastern Oregon, comes as Gov. Kate Brown has faced criticism over prioritizing educators over senior citizens for vaccine eligibility in her effort to get schools across the state to reopen. All teachers became eligible to receive scarce vaccines on Monday, even though eligible health care workers, who were prioritized first, haven t all been vaccinated yet.
MALHEUR COUNTY
According to a news release Thursday afternoon from Malheur County Health Department, COVID-19 outbreaks are on the rise locally, with the most significant spikes in Vale and Ontario.
âWeâre very concerned with this trend of outbreaks, especially in the 97918 ZIP code, including Vale and Willowcreek areas,â said Sarah Poe, director of the health department, in a news release.
âWith a number of new infections linked in the last three weeks, there is the potential for a significant increase in cases when people donât follow precautions. This hurts schools and businesses and risks the health and safety of the elderly and most vulnerable. We need to act swiftly as a community to stop the spread.â