Dozens protest Oregon’s stay-at-home order

SALEM, Ore. — Dozens of people protesting Oregon’s stay-at-home order drove around the state Capitol on Friday, horns blaring, and a lawmaker asked the governor to ease restrictions for medical procedures for non-coronavirus patients.

The protest at the Capitol in Salem was one of several happening across the country this week as conservatives push back against virus-related restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

State Rep. Cheri Helt, a moderate Republican from Bend, credited Gov. Brown for imposing the stay-at-home order and social distancing. But she said in a letter it’s time to “slowly and carefully begin lifting regulations that have essentially shut down access to health care and medical procedures in Central Oregon for anything unrelated to COVID-19.”

Helt noted that the order has affected the health care industry and patients who must wait for procedures.

Some hospitals in Oregon have seen revenue decline as much as 60 percent in a month, Becky Hultberg, CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said recently.

Meanwhile the Oregon Health Authority reported six new COVID-19 deaths Friday for a total of 70 in the state. State officials also reported 49 new cases, increasing to 1,785 the total number of people statewide who have tested positive for the disease.