March 9, 2021 2:30 p.m.
Douglas County will remain at the Extreme Risk level for COVID-19, after Governor Kate Brown announced updates to the county risk levels under the state’s public health framework to reduce transmission and protect Oregonians from COVID-19, on Tuesday.
Effective March 12th through March 25th, only Douglas and Coos counties will be at the Extreme Risk level. 9 counties will be at High Risk, 12 will be at Moderate Risk and 13 will be at Lower Risk. 3 counties moved from Extreme to High Risk. 5 counties moved from High to Moderate Risk, including Multnomah and Lane. 5 counties moved to Low Risk – 4 of those coming from Moderate Risk and 1 coming from High Risk.
Brown said Oregon is largely seeing case rates decline across the state, with the most counties in the Lower Risk level since the framework was introduced in November.
Under a modification announced recently counties that reduced their COVID-19 spread enough to move down in risk level in the previous two-week period, but see their numbers go back up in the next two week period, are being given a two-week caution period to bring their COVID-19 case rates back down again.
*Jackson County qualifies for Extreme Risk but is given a two-week caution period at High Risk because it moved down from Extreme Risk in the last movement period
*Malheur County qualifies for High Risk but is given a two-week caution period at Moderate Risk because it moved down from Extreme Risk in the last movement period.
Brown said the caution period will allow counties to re-focus efforts to drive back down creeping case numbers and give local businesses additional certainty on their plans for operating. If at the end of the caution period, case rate data still puts the county at a higher risk level, the county will move to that level.
County risk levels are reassigned every two weeks. The next assignment of risk levels will be announced March 23rd and takes effect March 26th.
Updates to Warning Week data and county risk levels are posted to: https://coronavirus.oregon.gov/Pages/default.aspx