July 31, 2020 4:40 a.m.

Umatilla County has been moved back to Baseline Stay Home status by Oregon Governor Kate Brown, while Morrow County has moved to Phase 1 status.

A release from the Governor’s office said COVID-19 has spread rapidly in both counties over the past month.

Umatilla County has more cases of COVID-19 per capita than any other Oregon county, at 234 cases per 10,000 people. The county has a weekly test positivity rate of 23 percent, far above the state average. In the last two weeks, the county has reported an average of 51 new cases per day.

Morrow County has 213 cases per 10,000 people. The county has a weekly test positivity rate of 30 percent, also far above the state average. The county has reported 7 new cases per day over the last two weeks.

Brown said “after weeks of trying other measures to get the disease under control, our only option is to temporarily close certain businesses and community amenities”. Brown said she is hopeful the measures will help the community control the spread of COVID-19 quickly. The changes will be in effect for 21 days.

For Umatilla County, all residents should minimize all non-essential travel and stay at their home as much as possible. All businesses must implement work-from-home or telework policies for employees to the maximum extent possible. Civic cultural and faith-based gatherings are limited to 25 people. All social gatherings are limited to 10 people. While grocery stores and some other businesses can remain open, restaurants must move to take-out only and gyms, malls, entertainment facilities and personal service businesses must close.

In Morrow County, recreational and youth sports and venues like movie theaters remain closed. Non-essential local travel is allowed. Personal services businesses are allowed to operate with health and safety measures in place. Restaurants and bars can remain open until 10:00 p.m. Indoor social gatherings are capped at 10 people while other gatherings are limited to 50 people, both in and outdoors.