As the holiday begins, the Oregon Governor will send inspectors to check for masks.

As Oregon’s COVID cases continued to reach a rate well in excess of 300 per day before Independence Day weekend, Governor Kate Brown pledged to send workplace safety and liquor inspectors to companies to verify if customers wear masks.

The Oregon Health Authority announced yesterday that 344 other people tested positive for the coronavirus, the second day in a row cases rose above 300. But Brown did not close any county, but instead said it would reevaluate the state of eight affected rural counties afterward. of the weekend.

Those counties, Jefferson, Lake, Lincoln, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wasco, are seeing amazing infections per capita. In Umatilla County, 1 in 320 people has contracted a COVID case that cannot be traced back to a known source.

Brown said he could rescind the reopening of those counties if the cases don’t drop over the weekend.

The governor also promised to send Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA) inspectors and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to carry out “spot checks” if companies are making their customers wear masks. Brown said companies that refuse to comply with the mask rules could face an immediate shutdown.

“I ask Oregonians this holiday weekend to take urgent steps to stop the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face shields, avoiding large gatherings and physical estrangements,” said Brown. “And state enforcement agencies will be in place to ensure companies comply. Companies that do not meet meeting size limits, coverage requirements, physical distance rules and other regulations face severe penalties.”

Multnomah County saw another 59 new cases today, close to its daily record and consistent with recent upward trends.