UMATILLA COUNTY — Umatilla County in Eastern Oregon continues to report some of the highest COVID-19 infection rates statewide, but county commissioners say they won’t step in to reinstate pandemic restrictions, and state officials have ceded COVID-19 decision making to local authorities.

With almost 80,000 residents, the county saw 8% of Oregon’s total COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, despite accounting for less than 2% of the state’s total population. During that same time frame, the county reported the second highest positive test rate statewide at 17.6%, as hospitals in Pendleton and Hermiston reported an uptick in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Over the past two weeks, the county has averaged 32 cases per day, a sharp rise from the nearly 10 cases per day the county was reporting earlier this month. It’s a total that tops several densely populated counties in Western Oregon and amounts to a case rate nearly seven times higher than Multnomah and Washington counties, according to the state.

Umatilla County Public Health Director Joe Fiumara said the county is expecting to report an especially high case count Tuesday. By noon Monday, the county added up more than 80 new COVID-19 cases from the weekend, and Fiumara expected that number to continue to rise.

The Oregon Health Authority and the office of Gov. Kate Brown on Monday referred reporters to an official press release that morning, statements during a press call last week and the new County COVID-19 Community Spread Report.

“There are no updates to add at this time,” said OHA spokesperson Rudy Owens.

Take action

Public health experts say the recent surge is being driven by the delta variant spreading rapidly in unvaccinated communities, which was the topic of a press conference last week where Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen urged counties with low vaccination rates to “take action now.”

Allen singled out Umatilla County as having significantly high rates of infection and low vaccination rates — less than 40%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a statement, Brown’s office also said it is “strongly recommending that local leaders consider implementing temporary measures such as masks and physical distancing.”

But Umatilla County Commissioners John Shafer and George Murdock say they would be hard pressed to implement any sort of pandemic mandates to curb the spread of infection. They claim that enforcing the restrictions would be challenging in a community that has largely come to disdain restrictions like masks.

“I think if we tried to implement any kind of restrictions, I don’t think anybody would follow them,” Shafer said.

Murdock added, “If we tell (county residents) to wear masks all of a sudden, who’s going to enforce that?”

OHA pointed to county officials as the proper authorities to determine the public health risk and take actions. Edicts from Salem would be counterproductive, said OHA director Allen.

Allen said an “I don’t care what you think, you have to get vaccinated” message from the governor or the health care agency might just reinforce divisions over vaccinations.

Allen had cited the “highly political” nature of the COVID-19 debate as a reason for locally focused responses. In addition to government leaders, Allen said civic and faith leaders could help by urging vaccination.

Getting vaccinated

Meanwhile, social gatherings and summer events continue to spur outbreaks. Fiumara said nearly 70 cases came on July 16, six days after Pendleton Whisky Music Fest saw at least 12,000 people at the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds. Fiumara said at least 30 cases in four counties — Umatilla, Union, Morrow and Walla Walla — have been traced directly back to the concert.

“My sense is that number’s going to go up,” Fiumara said.

The recent cases from Whisky Fest has county officials alarmed with more large summer events coming up, including the Umatilla County Fair and the Pendleton Round-Up. Murdock said county officials met with the Round-Up and Happy Canyon board to discuss new messaging meant to encourage people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fiumara attributed the recent surge directly to the state reopening and lifting masking and distancing restrictions on June 30. And the vast majority of the cases are coming from unvaccinated people. Fiumara said 92% of COVID-19 cases in Umatilla County since May 1 were from unvaccinated people.

If case counts remain at their current levels, Fiumara said he would ask the commissioners to issue recommendations for businesses to limit capacity and for people to wear masks.

Shafer and Murdock — each of whom have been vaccinated — have encouraged people to get the shot and maintain that it’s the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The ultimate solution is the vaccination,” Murdock said.

Murdock noted the county has taken a variety of measures to encourage vaccinations, including on billboards, advertisements and making staff available for people who want to get the shot.

However, if cases continue to rise, officials believe that the state could still step in and reinstate restrictions.

“Being near the bottom, in terms of vaccinations, and being near the top, in terms of cases, we make ourselves very vulnerable to a mandate or any kind of intervention,” said Murdock. “So that’s why we’re going to continue to advocate for vaccinations.”

Over the past week, Umatilla County surpassed another pandemic milestone of 9,000 cases, rising to 9,231 on Monday. The county has reported 92 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.