Hello friends. Today is the forty-first day of my mandatory leave from my work site due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic here in the state of Oregon.
Last week Governor Kate Brown released Reopening Oregon: A Public Health Framework for Restarting Public Life and Business with the goal being to keep the curve flattened. It has been known since early March that putting in place protective measures to flatten the curve would guard against an unprecedented number of coronavirus cases, keep vital health care services from becoming overwhelmed with patients, and allow the state to properly address testing and readiness needs.
The lifting of restrictions will not take place until certain criteria are met. For example, there must be a downward trajectory of illnesses and cases for at least 14 days and hospitals must be able to treat all patients without crisis care. Of course, testing and contact tracing, along with ensuring hospitals have adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and are prepared for a surge of patients are also part of that criteria.
The plan will then shift to protecting the health and safety of workers, with an emphasis on keeping social distancing and face coverings rules in place. Continual monitoring to mitigate rebounds or outbreaks will determine whether any of the three phases (lifting of restrictions) will be restarted or if there will be a return to an earlier phase. (The details of the three phases are in the above link.)
What this means is that we Oregonians will still be in this quarantine for awhile. We must await the Governor's direction before any of the reopening phases can begin.
Which, for me, means I will continue to be out on mandatory leave and I won't be able to see my mom, who lives in a care facility, for several more weeks.
And so, we continue to wait.
Thank you for reading and I hope you and your family are able to stay safe.
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