Coronavirus Update: Face Coverings, Restaurants and Unemployment

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Face Coverings, Restaurants and Unemployment

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As you read yesterday, there was a spike in the daily coronavirus case count for a few days. The Oregon Health Authority says that wasn’t unexpected because things continue to open up, more testing is happening, and there have been a few workplace outbreaks to influence the numbers.

That said, with many counties entering Phase 2 Reopening, it can be difficult to keep track of information on how best to protect yourself and others from coronavirus. The good news is the Oregon Health Authority has put together a new in-depth Q&A about face coverings.

I’ve posted the first two parts of the Q&A below, given its length. The entire document is available here.

Am I required to wear a face covering in public?

It depends on the place. When riding public transit, a person is required to wear a cloth, paper or disposable face covering unless that person:

  • Is under two years of age
  • Has a medical condition that makes it hard to breathe when wearing a face covering
  • Has a disability that prevents the individual from wearing a face covering

It is strongly recommended that people, including children 2 and 12 years old, wear a face covering at all times in places like grocery stores or pharmacies, where it might be hard to keep at least 6 feet apart from other people outside their family and where there are likely to be people at risk for getting sick.

Some businesses may require people to wear a face covering. If so, a business must have policies and procedures that make accommodations for people with disabilities and exceptions for children and people with medical conditions. If businesses require face coverings this does not replace the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Will a face covering protect me from COVID-19?

Face coverings may reduce the spread of COVID-19. This includes spread from people who have the virus but no symptoms. As Oregon reopens businesses and public spaces, following the guidelines below is more important than ever:

  • Stay home if you are sick.
  • If you are at higher risk, stay home as much as possible even if you feel well.
  • If you become sick while in public, return home, self-isolate, and call your health care provider.
  • Wash your hands often.
  • Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and objects.
  • Cover coughs/sneezes with elbow or tissue.
  • Do not touch your face.
  • Keep physical distance - 6 feet between you and people who you do not live with.
  • Avoid overnight trips and travel the minimum distance needed to obtain essential services.

Protect from COVID

Protect from COVID 2

Guidelines for Restaurants and Bars in Phase 2 Counties

Among the changes in place for the 29 counties now in Phase 2 Reopening is the ability to dine in at restaurants or bars. Like the Q&A on face coverings, this is extensive guidance, so I’m putting only portions of it below. You can read the full guidance here.

Restaurants/Bars/Breweries/Tasting Rooms/Distilleries must:

  • Review and implement General Guidance for Employers.
  • Determine maximum occupancy to maintain physical distancing requirements and limit number of customers on premises accordingly. The maximum restaurant occupancy should be determined by the owner/manager based on the number of patrons that can be accommodated while maintaining 6 foot distance between parties, including when customers approach or leave tables.
  • Ensure tables are spaced at least 6 feet apart so that at least 6 feet between parties is maintained, including when customers approach or leave tables.
  • Limit parties to 10 people or fewer. At shared seating situations, do not combine parties/guests who have not chosen to congregate together. People in the same party seated at the same table do not have to be 6 feet apart.
  • If a business is unable to maintain at least 6 feet of distance, except for brief interactions (for example, to deliver food to a table), it may operate only as pick up/to go service. This applies to both indoor and outdoor seating.

For their employees, businesses must:

  • Minimize employee bare-hand contact with food through use of utensils.
  • Reinforce that meticulous hand hygiene (frequent and proper handwashing) is of utmost importance for all employees, including chefs, line cooks and waitstaff.
  • Have employees wear gloves when performing cleaning, sanitizing, or disinfecting activities. Please note that for non-cleaning activities, non-Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) licensed facility employees are not required to wear gloves. Wearing gloves for activities that might overlap with food handling can foster cross contamination. If businesses choose to have employees use gloves, they must provide non-latex gloves and employees must prevent cross-contamination by replacing gloves after touching faces or changing tasks (e.g. food preparation versus taking out garbage). See Food Code Fact Sheet #1-Minimizing Bare Hand Contact.
  • Review and implement Mask and Face Covering Guidance for Business, Transit and the Public.

Businesses must also:

  • End all on-site consumption of food and drinks, including alcoholic beverages by midnight. Restaurants and bars should open the next day based on regularly scheduled opening business hours. Restaurants must not attempt to get around the midnight required closure by reopening right after midnight.
  • Prohibit customer self-service operations, including buffets, salad bars, soda machines and growler refilling stations.
  • Disinfect customer-contact surfaces at tables between each customer/dining party, including seats, tables, menus, condiment containers and all other touch points.
  • Provide condiments, such as salt and pepper, ketchup, hot sauce and sugar, in single serve packets or from a single-service container. If that is not possible, condiment containers should not be pre-set on the table and must be disinfected between each customer or dining party. Disinfection must be done in a way that does not contaminate the food product. For example, do not use a spray device on a saltshaker.
  • Not pre-set tables with tableware (napkins, utensils, glassware).
  • Prohibit counter and bar seating unless the counter faces a window or wall and at least 6 feet of distance is maintained between parties and/or staff behind the bar. This applies to all facilities including bars, breweries and tasting rooms. Counter and bar ordering are acceptable if the operation finds that this decreases worker exposure. The counter ordering approach requires that food and alcohol are taken to a table that meets distancing requirements for consumption and at least 6 feet of physical distance is maintained among customers and employees during the ordering process.
  • Ensure customers/parties remain at least 6 feet apart when ordering.
    • Signs should be posted as necessary to ensure that customers meet the requirements of this guidance.
    • Mark designated spots on the floor where customers will wait in line.
  • Frequently disinfect all common areas and touch points, including payment devices.
  • Use menus that are single-use, cleanable between customers (laminated), online, or posted on a whiteboard or something similar in order to avoid multiple contact points.
  • For use of juke box and coin-operated arcade machines, the same protocols should be followed as outlined for Video Lottery Terminals below.

Unemployment Update

Here is the latest I’ve heard from the Oregon Employment Department (OED):

The agency is continuing to add people to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) phone line, and I’ve heard from more constituents that more benefits seem to be getting to Oregonians. (The PUA phone line is 503-370-5400). Of course, a lot more progress needs to happen, so please continue to reach out to my office if you are not getting updated information about your claim or are still waiting on your benefits.

The department is answering about 1,200 calls per day. Nonetheless, I’m not satisfied with the length of the wait time people are still experiencing. This week, the Oregon Employment Department is training reassigned staff from other state agencies to help with calling people, and tomorrow those people will start helping to work through the backlog of regular unemployment claims. They can’t do processing, but they will be able to give an update on a person’s claim. The National Guard will be helping with outreach on PUA claims.


The Latest News

  • Governor Brown announced that Oregon will be implementing a comprehensive coronavirus testing plan to protect the residents and staff of long-term care facilities, prioritizing those facilities at greatest risk for outbreaks. Full details of the plan will be released by the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Human Services later this week.
  • Yesterday, I wrote about the recent high case counts between Saturday and Monday. The Oregonian has more information here, featuring interviews with state public health officials about why confirmed cases have increased.
  • The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) announced yesterday that Oregon received approval from the federal government to implement Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) benefits for students who had access to free meals through a school participating in the National School Lunch Program. Families of 130,975 students will receive a total of more than $50 million from June 1 – June 9. This initial allotment is to students who currently receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and have been determined eligible by the Oregon Department of Education. More information from DHS is available here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 70 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 4,841 confirmed cases. There are 4,988 confirmed and presumptive cases combined. Sadly, there have been five more deaths from coronavirus, meaning there have been 169 confirmed deaths in Oregon from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 6-9-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 6-9-2020

George Floyd Goes Home

Family and friends paid their final respects to George Floyd today at a funeral service in his hometown of Houston, Texas. The murder of Mr. Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has refreshed a nationwide movement against the police killings of Black Americans. His death has created an opportunity for Oregon and the country to step up and do more to undo the institutionalized racism that led to his death. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislative People of Color Caucus to bring about real change soon.


To read past newsletters, you can go to this link. For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx

Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.

Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.

Best,

Tina

Tina Kotek

State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House

email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek