CORONAVIRUS, Government, Washington County

Washington County will drop to ‘moderate risk’ on Friday

Face masks. Photo: Chas Hundley

Weeks of falling COVID-19 case rates have already seen Washington County moved from the “Extreme Risk” category to “High Risk.” Governor Kate Brown announced that 16 counties, including Washington, will be moved down further in the list of categories on Friday, Feb. 26.

The counties are expected to remain where they are in the governor’s framework for at least two weeks, from Friday Feb. 26 through March 11.

For Washington County, moving down from High to Moderate will ease coronavirus restrictions in a number of ways.

Restaurants will be permitted to host more customers at a time, as will some churches, funeral homes, and grocery stores.

Indoor gyms and fitness centers will also be allowed to host more customers at a time.

“Thanks to your work, we are moving to “moderate” risk on Friday. This means more capacity in restaurants, gyms & other venues,” Washington County said in a statement. “It is up to us to prevent another surge, so please continue to wear masks, stay home if sick & limit contacts outside your bubbles.”

Visit https://coronavirus.oregon.gov/Pages/living-with-covid-19.aspx for more regulations and information.

This story has been updated with a statement from Washington County.

+ posts

Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

Sign up for Banks area news in your inbox ↓