Gov. Kate Brown has approved Washington County’s application to enter Phase 1 of Oregon’s reopening plan. That means bars, restaurants, salons, and other most businesses in the county can reopen—with extra health precautions—on Monday, June 1.
Washington County applied to reopen last Friday, and Brown’s approval was announced Thursday afternoon. The second most populous county in Oregon, Washington County is home to sizeable Portland suburbs like Beaverton and Hillsboro.
Its reopening comes just days after Brown announced Clackamas County could reopen—meaning that Multnomah County is now the only Oregon county to not have Phase 1 approval. On Wednesday, Multnomah County leaders announced they will apply for reopening on June 5, with a plan to enter Phase 1 on June 12 barring a spike in COVID-19 cases.
To enter Phase 1 of the state’s reopening framework, a county needs to show that it has enough hospital space and protective equipment, a strong testing capacity, a steady decline in COVID-19 cases, and a solid team of contact tracers who can help limit the virus’ spread.
Washington County was home to the first person to test positive for COVID-19 in Oregon on February 28. As of Thursday, 715 Washington County residents had tested positive for the coronavirus, making it the county with the second-highest number of cases after Multnomah County. Seventeen Washington County residents have died from COVID-19. However, Washington County’s application says it has met the state’s criteria for entering Phase 1—including a decline in cases and hospitalizations.
Once a county is approved for Phase 1, its restaurants, bars, salons, gyms, and all retail businesses are allowed to reopen, provided they can follow specific safety criteria. Bars and restaurants must keep six feet between tables, and close by 10 pm. Personal services—like salons, spas, and tattoo parlors—need to keep customer logs and put six feet between each customer.
Up to 25 people can gather during Phase 1—but they still need to keep at least six feet apart.
Once a county has spent three weeks in Phase 1 without seeing a significant spike in COVID-19 cases, it can apply to enter Phase 2, the standards for which have not yet been established.
