Live Update: Portland Museum of Art, limited reopening on Thursday. news

Update (1:17 pm PT) — The Portland Museum of Art will begin a limited reopening of some galleries on Thursday, following a four-month closure due to a coronavirus pandemic.

The museum has 4 days of free admission from Thursday to Sunday.

In a statement, Brian Ferrisso, director and chief curator of the Portland Museum of Art and the Northwest Film Center, said:

The museum said all visitors and staff should wear face covers and maintain a distance of 6 feet from others. We also ask visitors to buy time-limited admission tickets.

The museum opens a limited number of galleries, giving you more room for physical distance. Due to its limited openings, adult admissions will be discounted from $20 to $10 from July 23rd, and will continue until all galleries can be safely reopened. Admission is free for those under 17 years old.

Face-to-face public programs such as indoor film screenings and tours will resume on separate timelines. Event rentals for spaces within the museum will also remain closed, in cooperation with state guidelines.

Oregon reports 409 new known coronavirus cases

The Oregon Health Authority Saturday reported 409 newly identified putative coronavirus cases. This is the maximum number of cases reported by the state so far per day.

OHA said in a news release that some of the higher numbers were due to “a move to a new reporting system that prevented the handling of positive cases for several hours on Thursday.” Cases not previously processed are included in Saturday’s case count, according to the agency.

According to the OHA, the state currently has a total of 11,851 known cases of coronavirus. The state has killed 232 people associated with the coronavirus.

Many of the new cases announced Friday occurred in the Portland area, with 99 in Multnomah County, 55 in Washington County, and 29 in Clackamas County. A number of new cases continued to occur in Umatilla County, with 50 cases. 61 cases were also seen in Marion County.

“Since Oregon has begun to reopen, the COVID-19 epidemic has been seen when people gathered, especially when celebrating graduations and birthdays with family and friends.

Health officials have called on everyone in the state to voluntarily limit indoor gatherings to groups of 10 or fewer for at least the next three weeks.

As of Friday, 208 people across the state of Oregon were hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 30 are on ventilators. Coronaviruses have led to 1,180 hospitalizations throughout the state during the pandemic.

Clark County diagnosis continues to rise

On Friday, health officials in Clark County, Washington, reported 38 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,166 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus and 32 have died in the county.

The latest people who died of the virus were women in their 50s who had an underlying disorder and men in their 80s who had an undetermined underlying disorder.

The latest available data from the Washington Department of Health shows that 38,581 have been diagnosed with coronaviruses in the state, and 1,409 are known to have died. As of Wednesday, COVID-19 has led to 4,665 hospitalizations in Washington.

Modeling continues to increase COVID infections

If Oregon stays at the current coronavirus rate-an estimated 1100 daily infections, only about 200 to 300 cases have been diagnosed-according to state health projections, the state will be by the end of July Authorities may see 3,600 new daily infections.

Current infection rates predict that about 50 people in Oregon will need to be hospitalized each day.

In a call with reporters Friday, Dr. Deansideringer, an Oregon Health Department epidemiologist, reviewed the agency’s latest projections for COVID-19 in the state.

In the worst state-mapped scenario, infections increased by 10%, resulting in approximately 7,300 new infections per day and 76 daily hospitalizations.

But even with a 10% reduction in infections, there will be a slight increase in coronavirus cases across the state, Sidelinger said.

Sidelinger also said hospital capacity in Oregon seems to be adequate for at least the next two months. But if cases continue to grow, the capacity will eventually expand, he said.

Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Department of Health, says the facility’s ability to meet the needs of the COVID-19 test is just as good at the moment.

“Oregon’s testing capabilities are increasing dramatically each week. In the last week alone, we performed more than 39,000 tests,” he said. “But due to various factors, supply chain testing is under tension.”

Allen said that Oregon could eventually run out of test supplies as it competes with states purchasing equipment through the same domestic supply chain. He also said state health officials are working to identify more testing capabilities to fill future shortfalls that the state may face. They also continue to call on the federal government for more supplies.

Inspectors find most bars, restaurants comply with COVID rules

A state inspector who visited 800 Oregon bars and restaurants over the weekend of July 4, discovered that one-tenth did not fully comply with coronavirus guidelines.

The Oregon Liquor Control Board said the inspector would verbally direct 74 companies to keep them at a social distance and cover the rules. We also forwarded a report on nine bars and restaurants to the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Department so that OSHA could determine if there were any violations requiring follow-up action.

According to the OLCC, most bars and restaurants in Portland’s metropolitan area, Salem and Medford areas were compliant, but some were verbally directed.

The agency introduced three companies to OSHA in the region, including counties Benton, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, and Lynn. He also introduced six companies to OSHA in the region, including all counties in Central and Eastern Oregon.