Temporary Suspension of In-Person Services
(to be reevaluated following Sunday February 13th)
During a dynamic and challenging 2-year period, the last month has nonetheless been unprecedented in terms of how volatile COVID-19 trends have been in Oregon and in the Portland metro area (see below).
It is too early to tell how high the current COVID-19 surge will go, but we've seen enough information to justify another change in how we as the Cascade community gather.
Starting this Sunday, January 16th we will be temporarily suspending the in-person component of our hybrid Sunday service model.
Online gathering for Sunday service
For the next few weeks, we will resume gathering online only via Facebook Live. This is how we gathered during most of 2020 and the start of 2021, and this model has some benefits - the foremost of which is protecting our community from COVID-19 infection during this time of greatly elevated risk.
Reevaluating the safety of resuming in-person gathering
We do not intend the online-only gathering model to be permanent and we will be regularly evaluating the trends in Oregon and the Portland metro area in the coming weeks. However, for now, our foremost priority is practicing caution. We will reevaluate the possibility of resuming a hybrid model (i.e., one that includes in-person gathering on Sunday) after one month (January 16 - February 13). If at that time COVID-19 trends still preclude the possibility of safe in-person gathering, we will then commit to reevaluating resumption of in-person gathering again in the coming months.
When we do resume in-person gathering, our in-person guidelines will still apply (i.e., distancing, masking using medical-grade masks).
Background: COVID-19 in Oregon in the last month
Regular tracking of COVID-19 infections, severe outcomes, and public health measures in Oregon has signaled the need for greater precautions at this time. Daily case counts have dramatically increased, and although this metric is no longer considered the most salient one (in the era of increased contagiousness and decreased virulence associated with the omicron variant), other markers are trending in worrying directions. Markers of severe COVID-19 (e.g., hospitalizations and deaths) and test-positivity rate are increasing, as are indicators of health care capacity strain (e.g., hospital bed occupancy). These trends have serious implications for all Oregonians - those who are infected with or at risk for COVID-19, and also people who may require other health care services.
(January 12, 2022)