County COVID-19 cases top 4,300

Yamhill County reported 47 new cases of COVID-19 for Saturday through Monday, bringing the county to a total, to date, of 4,325 cases. There have been 75 deaths in the county.

Statewide, there have now been 2,500 deaths, and 186,344 cases.

On Friday, Governor Kate Brown said that rising cases have forced the state to step back from its reopening efforts. There are now 15 counties considered “extreme risk.” Yamhill County is in the “high risk” category.

“As we are facing widespread cases, driven by new, more contagious variants, I was presented with data showing two paths Oregon could take: One in which we took no additional action and stood by while more people die from this disease, and another that required a temporary tightening of restrictions for certain counties but could save hundreds of lives and prevent as many as 450 hospitalizations over the next three weeks. As your Governor, I chose to save lives,” Brown said.

She continues to hope, however, she said, that the lockdowns will be short.

“There is some good news. The same scientific modeling also shows that over the course of the next two-to-three weeks, based on current vaccination rates, we can get ahead of these variants. Following that trajectory, we should be able to lift restrictions statewide and return to a sense of normalcy no later than the end of June,” Brown said.

As of May 3, the county has administered at least one dose of vaccine to 41,931 people, according to the OHA.

According to information released by the OHA, the county is expected to receive 2,200 initial and 1,300 booster doses of Moderna vaccine for the week.

Yamhill County Health and Human Services said in its weekly press release that 2,100 initial doses will be sent to the county, with another 100 to pharmacies. In addition, the federal government will send 1,500 doses to pharmacies in the county.

HHS said that the county “continues to partner with organizations to provide mobile vaccine opportunities at places of employment. We are also increasing walk-in access with pop up events throughout the community. Event dates, times and locations can be found on our Yamhill County COVID-19 vaccine website, reachable through the main HHS page, hhs.co.yamhill.or.us.”

Businesses who want to schedule on-site vaccine clinics for employees should e-mail covid@co.yamhill.or.us.