BOISE, Idaho — Oregon's statewide freeze comes to an end on Thursday, but the eastern part of the state is not out of the woods yet.
For the past two weeks, businesses have grappled with another round of restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. For Malheur County and much of Eastern Oregon - where the risk of infection remains high - restrictions will continue.
Business owners say the restrictions, which include a ban on indoor dining and beverage service at bars and restaurants, have cut into their bottom line
“It’s been a rough year definitely,” said Rylee Carrell, an assistant manager at Romio’s Pasta and Pizza in downtown Ontario. “We're doing what we have to do, just whatever we have to do to keep the doors open which is our main priority at this point.”
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So far, business at Romio's has been quiet, she said.
“We're keeping ourselves afloat and we're just taking it day by day,” Carrell said. “We don't want to overwhelm ourselves so we're just kind of going with it.”
Sarah Poe who is the Malheur County's Health Director said the freeze did help drive down COVID-19 numbers.
"We do know that with the modeling the Oregon Health Authority has put out, with these restrictions that the curve does bend,” she said.
Although the Oregon-wide freeze ends on Thursday, many restrictions will stay in place. Restrictions will be gauged based on the risk level for each county, designated at lower, moderate, high, and extreme.
A majority of counties, including Malheur, are in the extreme category, which means there is widespread community spread of COVID-19. That means indoor dining will remain off-limits for restaurants and bars, although delivery, takeout and some outdoor dining options are still allowed.
“It’s frustrating, just because this is how we make our living,” Carrell said. “At the same time, we're trying to be as understanding as we can given everything that is going on.”
Up to 50 people will be allowed to eat in restaurants' outdoor dining areas, but winter weather and cold temperatures are limiting how many people opt to dine outside. Carrell said she does not think the option will provide much of a boost to restaurants like Romio's.
“There's not a lot of places with outdoor dining,” she said. “I just don't think a lot of people want to be outside right now.”
If people follow the guidelines to slow the spread like keeping distance and wearing masks then not only could Malheur County move out of the extreme risk category, but it could also save lives.
“We just need to use this time to really hunker down and follow these precautions to save the people that we love,” Poe said. “It would be so awful for more and more people to be very sick or to die so close to a vaccine.”
Poe told KTVB that one thing Malheur County has improved is testing. From July through October, the county tested around 300-550 people every month. For the month of November, Poe said well over 1,000 people were tested.
“A sign that our community is coming together to help us reduce the spread and identify those asymptomatic cases and our goals are to save lives and reduce outbreaks,” she said.
At KTVB, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.
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