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Oregon coronavirus updates May 18: Supreme Court puts judge's ruling on hold

As COVID-19 continues to impact Oregon and Southwest Washington, Get the latest updates here.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Cases of COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus, began popping up in the United States in January. The first case in Oregon was reported on Feb. 28.

We post a new blog post every day that tracks the daily changes in Oregon and Southwest Washington as we get them. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LATEST UPDATES

BY THE NUMBERS

As of Monday night:

REAL-TIME UPDATES

11:30 p.m.

  • After nearly two months, access points to many Oregon beaches reopened as part of the governor's plan to gradually reopen the state. Learn more

8:40 p.m.

  • The Oregon Supreme Court late Monday night put a Baker County circuit court judge’s ruling that the state’s COVID-19 restrictions are “null and void” on hold while the court considers an emergency appeal by the state. Learn more
  • A legal expert explains why the Baker County judge ruled against Gov. Brown's stay-home order. Learn more

7:10 p.m.

  • The Oregon Liquor Control Commission reports marijuana sales were up 45% in April, compared to last year, making April 2020 the largest month on record for the state. Learn more

6:30 p.m.

  • Remdesivir has not officially been approved by the FDA, but it has been given emergency use authorization and it’s already being used to treat people with COVID-19 in Oregon. Learn more

5:45 p.m.

  • Portland International Airport now requires everyone entering the terminal to wear a face covering. The airport made the policy change last week during a monthly Port of Portland commissioners meeting. Learn more

3:10 p.m.

  • The Oregon Health Authority on Monday announced another person has died from the coronavirus. It’s the first time the public health agency has reported a COVID-19-related death since May 14. Learn more
  • Seaside has reopened its beach, parks, waterways and trails. The areas had been closed since March 23. Learn more 
  • President Donald Trump said Monday that he is taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to lessen symptoms should he get the new coronavirus, even though the drug is unproven for fighting COVID-19. Learn more

1:50 p.m.

  • A county judge has declared Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s coronavirus restrictions “null and void” because she didn’t have her emergency orders approved by the Legislature following 28 days. Brown said she would immediately appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court to try to keep the emergency orders in effect. Learn more
  • The 99W Drive-In Theatre in Newberg is reopening for weekend movie showings, beginning this Friday. The movie lineup for this weekend's showings will be revealed later Monday. Learn more

9:30 a.m.

  • When the COVID-19 pandemic canceled their performances, Mark Morris High School choir students in Longview put on a virtual concert.

9 a.m.

  • In Multnomah County, they've added staff to handle the contact tracing. "We started out with seven people who worked on this. We have almost five times the size of the crew we were in January," said Kim Toevs, the Communicable Disease Services Director for the Multnomah County Health Department. Learn more

RELATED: Contact tracing: What it is and how it works

8 a.m.

  • Oregon is slowly working toward reopening. On Friday, 31 of the state's 36 counties began to ease stay-home restrictions and enter into Phase 1 of Gov. Kate Brown's reopening plan. This was the first full weekend those 31 counties reopened. Coastal towns started coming back to life as did Oregon's wine country. Learn more
  • One high school senior in Oregon decided he's wasn't going to let himself or his classmates miss out on prom this weekend. Ryan Iness, a senior at Westview High School, said he and his friends spent hours creating a virtual prom using the game Minecraft. Learn more
  • The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported nine new confirmed and three new presumptive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. For the third day in a row, the state reported no new deaths. Oregon's death toll remains at 137. Sunday marked the seventh time this month that no new COVID-19 deaths were reported. Learn more

RELATED: Real-time COVID-19 updates (Washington state): Face masks required at Sea-Tac Airport

RELATED: Fed Chair: Economic recovery from COVID-19 pandemic may begin by summer, will likely be slow

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