Plaza Inn Restaurant in Ontario will be just one of many restaurants that will be open for in-door seating Friday. (The Enterprise/Kezia Setyawan).
VALE – Local residents will be able to go get a cold beer or drop by their favorite restaurant and sit down for a meal Friday, after the state changed Malheur County’s Covid risk level Feb. 23.
Gov. Kate Brown announced that the county was to drop from the Covid extreme risk category to moderate risk.
The new designation means indoor dining will be allowed for bars and restaurants up to 50% capacity. Theaters, museums and other indoor entertainment venues can also open to 50% capacity or 100 people, whichever is smaller.
Inside visits to long-term health care facilities will be allowed while churches and funeral homes can now host indoor gatherings at 50% capacity or no more than 100 people.
Other venues – such as government entities like city halls – won’t be open until Monday.
Four Rivers Cultural Center’s museum and the Hikaru Mizu Japanese Garden will not be open until later in March.
Ontario City Hall will open Monday, said Adam Brown, Ontario city manager. Vale City Hall will also open Monday.
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