Coronavirus in rural America (Part LVII): Oregon

Two big stories about rural-urban differences in Oregon have emerged in recent days. Both implicate the controversy over mask-wearing and other coronavirus restrictions in recent days and weeks.

The first I'm going to discuss is this one on National Public Radio, from Baker City, Oregon, population 9,828, in the eastern part of the state.  Kirk Seigler reports under the headline, "Why Parts Of Rural America Are Pushing Back On Coronavirus Restrictions" on May 27.  Here are the first few paragraphs:

A county judge in Oregon has refused to vacate his ruling rejecting that state's stay-at-home order, though Gov. Kate Brown's restrictions will remain in place pending a review by the Oregon Supreme Court. 

The case is one of several challenges launched recently by conservatives in mostly rural areas from Illinois to Wisconsin to Oregon. They've upended or threatened to upend statewide public health restrictions in place to curb coronavirus infections. They also appear to be bringing the divide between urban and rural areas into sharper focus. 

For instance, Baker County, from where Oregon's most recent challenge stemmed, has one confirmed COVID-19 case. 

"We have no vile threat that it's going to be expanding around here, so why in God's name are you still holding us to restrictions?" asked Bill Harvey, chair of the Baker County Commission. 

Harvey, a Republican, signed onto his state's most recent lawsuit that was originally brought by Oregon churches, including Elkhorn Baptist in Baker City. The judge ruled last week that under state law, the governor must consult the Legislature before extending her emergency restrictions beyond 28 days. 

The statewide order is back in place for now pending an appeal.

The story also features comments from a local government official who supports the wearing of masks, in part because of a relative of his back east has died from COVID-19.  The story continues:

Baker County, with a population of about 17,000, is some 300 miles east of the liberal-leaning Portland metro area. Along the old Oregon Trail, tourism is big here. So is cattle ranching. Both have been hammered economically by the shutdown. Summer rodeos, fishing tournaments and fairs are canceled, among other things.

The other story is from James Ross Gardner in the New Yorker on May 28, "How the Coronavirus Exacerbated Oregon’s Bitter Political Divide."  Here's the lede:

The first time that Samantha wore a mask at work, her manager issued a reprimand. A customer had complained. She was scaring people, the shopper had told Samantha’s boss at the grocery store where she’s a cashier and service-desk attendant. This was mid-March, with the coronavirus outbreak in full bloom and spreading through the country. Although Oregon had yet to detect even a hundred cases, and there were none confirmed in the rural town along the Columbia River where Samantha lives and works, Washington State, just over the river, had already clocked more than seven hundred confirmed cases and more than forty deaths. (Samantha’s name has been changed, due to fears of retribution from her employer.) Because she shares a household with her in-laws, both of whom are in their seventies and, therefore, vulnerable to coronavirus infection, Samantha paid extra close attention to covid-19 and its dangers early on. Covering her nose and mouth, she knew, could help prevent transmission of the virus, and donning a mask during her shift seemed not only wise but responsible, a decision that could save shoppers’ lives.

Yet this shopper accused Samantha of wearing it to boost a socialist agenda, to hype the pandemic, to strike fear in the minds of those wheeling their carts down aisles to procure the week’s groceries. The customer, a former employee at the store, likely held sway with Samantha’s boss, who pulled her from her work station. “So I spent an hour in the office being talked to about how they had to ‘O.K. things,’ and I couldn’t wear it, and they’re going to have to send me home,” Samantha told me.

About a week later, on March 23rd, with a hundred and ninety-one confirmed cases in the state, Governor Kate Brown issued a stay-at-home order, closing businesses deemed unable to maintain social distancing (including theatres, boutiques, malls, gyms, and restaurants without takeout options) and most parks, and insisting that Oregonians keep six feet apart—measures the governor later described to me as “very early and very aggressive actions.” When the grocery chain where Samantha works finally adjusted its policy, at first allowing and then requiring employees to wear masks, there was no vindication, no apology.

The story is well worth a read in its entirety and highlights the mask-wearing debate raging around the nation--at least in many places that are not urban New York and California. 

Postscript from The Oregonian on June 7:  "124 coronavirus cases reported at Pacific Seafood facility in Newport."  Noelle Crombie reports from the central northern coast of Oregon; Newport's population is 9,989.  Here's an excerpt:

The public health investigation into the outbreak began June 2, according to the state. State officials said the initial tally fell below the threshold for public disclosure, which the state set at more than five cases in workplaces with more than 30 workers.

Officials said the risk to the public is low.

On Sunday, Pacific Seafood issued a statement saying it provided testing for 376 workers at its five Newport facilities.

Fifty-three employees and 71 local contractors tested positive.

The company said 95 percent of those who tested positive did not report any symptoms. None have been hospitalized.