Deschutes County officials drafted an 鈥渙rder concerning restrictions on worship鈥� without consulting the county鈥檚 own health director. It would direct county employees not to enforce restrictions limiting religious gatherings to 25 people, and not to help state employees enforcing those rules either.
Even with two out of three commissioners signalling support for the resolution, they delayed voting on it at a special meeting on Thursday.
鈥淭his is a message for the governor that religion is important to a significant portion of Oregonians,鈥� said County Chair Patti Adair.
Adair鈥檚 push for the order is just the latest example of politics, religious freedom and public health guidelines clashing in more rural parts of Oregon, where the governor鈥檚 executive orders already lack enforcement, and in court.
Deschutes Commissioner Phil Henderson said he supported the county refusing to enforce Brown鈥檚 policies, even though he鈥檇 gotten more comments from constituents against his opinion than in favor of it.
鈥淭hat was the whole point of the Bill of Rights, was to protect the minority. 鈥� And apparently, given the vitriolic comments we鈥檝e received by so many citizens about us taking this action, there are a lot of people that don鈥檛 respect the interests and rights of people that want to worship the way they want to worship,鈥� Henderson said.
He contended that 鈥渁 lot of people aren鈥檛 affected by a change like this, because it鈥檚 not their church we鈥檙e talking about, but they have real strong opinions about it.鈥�
, both in Oregon and across the world. Among 92 attendees at a rural Arkansas church during one week in March, 35 people contracted COVID-19, and three people died, .
鈥淭he [Deschutes County] Board of Commissioners is confident that members of religious congregations within our community will exercise good and sound judgment as to how to gather to worship in a reasonably safe manner,鈥� reads a draft of the county鈥檚 order.
Commissioner Tony Debone said he agreed with the spirit of the text, but wasn鈥檛 on board.
鈥淭o say a local jurisdiction is going to ignore the rules ... I just don鈥檛 see it as the tool for this,鈥� DeBone said.
County health department director George Conway confirmed Wednesday that he was not consulted on the order, nor was he aware of it until OPB contacted him.
Health department spokesperson Morgan Emerson followed up in a text message to say officials were ready to provide technical assistance.
鈥淥ur public health team is available to help any Deschutes County business or organization plan to reopen safely, including developing protocols for safe physical distancing and cloth face coverings,鈥� Emerson said.
Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson has already said he won鈥檛 enforce the governor鈥檚 emergency orders. As The Bulletin reported, deputies even in March.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in an emailed statement that 鈥渆ven as certain counties enter different phases of a gradual re-opening, the relevant executive orders remain in place and all Oregonians are asked to continue to comply with them. We really appreciate everyone鈥檚 cooperation as we navigate an unprecedented public health crisis in our state.鈥�
Deschutes County began a phased reopening May 15, right after the governor and state health authorities approved the county鈥檚 plan, a road map of resources it will need to track and contain COVID-19 outbreaks.
The county was approved for reopening despite a surge in cases and questions about local contact tracing capacity. Deschutes could qualify for Phase 2 by June 5, with the governor鈥檚 blessing.
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