Effective today, Wednesday, May 6th, the Board of Commissioners re-opened the county’s transient lodging facilities and RV parks; campgrounds will open Friday. They also are requesting the Governor re-open the county for business.
On March 27th the Commissioners adopted an order that closed all transient lodging facilities. Last week they discussed rescinding that order but met opposition from the cities and several residents.
Monday the city of Gold Beach decided to lift their ban on transient lodging effective Friday May 8th and it is expected Brookings will follow Gold Beach’s lead and open their hotels and motels Friday as well.
County facilities open Wednesday, May 6, at 5:00 p.m.
County staff also announced at the Commissioners meeting that on Tuesday the Governor lifted the ban on campgrounds, and therefore Boice Cope County Park, a campground, would be opening on Friday.
Staff further explained safety protocols are being put in place to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. Due to needed repairs, Lobster Creek Campground will remain closed until further notice.
In addition, the Commissioners Office has been receiving a lot of calls regarding businesses and their need to re-open. The county is filing a petition this week asking the Governor to open the county for ‘Phase 1’ of the Governor’s proposal to re-open Oregon.
To petition the state the county needed to develop a plan satisfying seven public health related criteria the Governor requested be addressed. The Governor’s Office will be reviewing the plan, which was developed by the county’s Public Health Administrator, Sherrie Ward, and indicated it could take two weeks to review and comment on the plan.
