LA GRANDE, Ore. — Commissioners in a small, rural county in Northeast Oregon voted Wednesday to recommend rolling back a loosening on restrictions as the county deals with the largest coronavirus outbreak in the state.
Union County commissioners voted to recommend a return to the first phase of reopening countywide and also recommended that all residents wear face masks, The Observer reported.
The move comes as the county of roughly 27,000 people nestled amid national forestland struggles with 242 confirmed cases of COVID-19. County health authorities said Wednesday at least 236 of those are related to the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Island City. The county previously had just a handful of cases and had moved to the second phase of reopening under Gov. Kate Brown’s plan.
The votes are recommendations and the county is looking into what enforcement power it has. Union County is about 240 miles east of Portland.
