Douglas County Commissioners and local health leaders were among those making the case for re-opening the county and region, and talking about the accomplishments and emergency preparations that have been made for dealing with COVID-19, at a press conference held on Friday at the courthouse.
Commissioner Chris Boice talked about a letter he had written several days ago to Governor Kate Brown asking for a regional approach to her Phase One Reopening Oregon plans. Boice had asked that Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine and Jackson counties be allowed to move into a Phase One reopening effective April 25th. Boice said the letter had been sent to commissioners in the other counties and the process of getting agreement from of all of them had taken longer than expected. A press release from the Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team issued later on Friday, said the remaining counties had approved and signed the letter, and it had been forwarded to the Governor’s office. Boice said if Governor Brown turned down the request it might be because of expectations from her that they had not thought of. He said that would still give the counties the opportunity to work with her, “to get to the spot where she feels comfortable with what we’re trying to accomplish”.
Commissioner Tim Freeman talked about how the response team had been formed and detailed the many organizations that have been involved in dealing with the pandemic.
County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer said “now is the time” for re-opening. He noted a declining case count with only 9 active cases of COVID-19 as of Friday. He said there is adequate personal protective equipment, and “robust testing” has taken place. Dannenhoffer said the Douglas Public Health Network had added 5 staff members to help follow up with those who test positive for the virus.
Incident Commander KC Bolton of AVIVA Health said he is optimistic because local healthcare organizations have worked positively together in unprecedented ways to create a plan that supports the hospitals. He said the group is ready for “whatever comes our way”.
A total of 10 people spoke at the hour-long event
Due to social distancing guidelines the press conference was held on the steps of the courthouse. The group of 13 people in front of the entrance stood on x’s that had put in place to make sure everyone was at least six feet apart. X’s below the steps were there for members of the media. All those taking part wore masks, removing them only when speaking. All of the precautions made for a surreal scene. As the event ended, Commissioner Boice said “we’ve got to stop meeting like this”, appearing to hope that things return to something resembling “normal” soon.