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About 250 anti-lockdown protesters gathered for a Thanksgiving meal in Oregon on Wednesday, just hours after the state governor extended COVID-19 restrictions.
Participants in the “Defeat the Steal and Defy the Lockdown” rally reportedly included crowds of past pro-Trump events and members of the far-right group Proud Boy,
Protesters were encouraged to bring dishes, like turkey and pies, for a buffet to share and were pictured sitting at rows of tables or under tents amid the afternoon drizzle in Salem , the Journal of statesmen reports.
“The lockdown should not take place,” participant Geena Shipman of Springfield told the local newspaper.
“When businesses have to close … it affects them. A lot of people have worked their whole lives to start a business to support their families and they are closed because they cannot afford to stay open … and that is not fair. “
Several anti-lockdown protests have taken place in Oregon in recent weeks, with Governor Kate Brown defeating a legal challenge from local restaurant owners calling for the lifting of statewide anti-coronavirus measures.
The latest protests came just hours after Brown urged people to stay home for Thanksgiving as she revealed plans to replace the state’s two-week “freeze” restrictions with gentler measures and more durable.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Brown announced that the “freeze” – in which restaurants are limited to take-out and other businesses are closed – would be replaced with a tiered system next Thursday.
As part of this plan, county coronavirus data will be used to assign one of four risk levels: extreme risk, high risk, moderate risk, and lower risk.
Measures for extreme risk counties include restaurants and bars limited to 50 patrons for outdoor dining only, gyms remaining closed, and retail and grocery stores not operating at more than 50% of capacity.
The limits are expected to continue at least until January and could be in place until a majority of the population has been vaccinated, the Newspaper reported.
Announcing the changes, Brown said: “Until COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, health and safety precautions will remain in place so that schools, businesses and communities can reopen and stay open.”
“At all levels of risk, to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, Oregon residents should continue to wear headgear, monitor their physical distance, wash their hands, stay home when ‘they are sick and limit social gatherings and gatherings.
The numbers of COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths have reached record levels in Oregon in recent days.
New confirmed and suspected cases of the virus reached 1,517 on Sunday – the third day in a row the record was broken, according to official state figures. The total number of cases in Oregon now stands at more than 65,000.
On Tuesday, 21 more deaths were recorded, another state record, bringing the total to 867, according to Johns Hopkins University.
On Monday, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 stood at 456, another new record.
Last week, state health department director Patrick Allen warned, “Oregon is on a steep and tough hill.
“But we are not helpless in the face of this virus. Because it depends on us to slow the spread. Your choices make a difference.”
Nathan Howard / Getty
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