COVID-19 timeline highlights

Feb. 28: The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Oregon. The same day of the state wrestling tournament, which brought people from all corners of the state to Portland.

March 11: The first COVID-19 case is identified in Central Oregon. The total number of cases statewide was 19.

March 12: Central Oregon school districts suspend extracurricular activities, like field trips and athletic events.

March 13: COCC, OSU-Cascades announce spring term courses will be held remotely.

March 13: Bend Park & Recreation District closes all of its facilities and cancels all recreation programs.

March 13: City of Bend and Deschutes County declare a local COVID-19 emergency order.

March 13: The high school state basketball tournament is canceled prior to completion.

March 16: First day of COVID-19 school cancellations for Central Oregon K-12 public schools.

March 17: Gov. Kate Brown announces that all public schools must stay closed through April 28.

March 18: Gov. Brown orders closure of restaurant dine-in business for four weeks.

March 18: Grocery stores launch pandemic adjustments, allowing senior hour shopping.

March 19: Oregon Parks and Recreation announces the temporary closure of all state parks.

March 20: Redmond School District unveils online learning website, EngageRedmond.

March 30: Bend Park & Recreation District lays off 321 employees.

April 1: Bend-La Pine begins at-home classes, commonly referred to as distance learning.

April 1: Deschutes County prohibits the use of short-term rentals in the rural county. It is lifted May 15.

April 2: The 44th annual Pole Pedal Paddle — Central Oregon’s signature sporting event — is canceled. May 16 would have been the 44th annual Pole Pedal Paddle, which includes teams, pairs and individuals racing in alpine skiing, nordic skiing, road cycling, running and paddling.

April 7: The 80th annual Sisters Rodeo, scheduled for June 10-14, is canceled. The rodeo is scheduled for June 9-13, 2021.

April 8: Gov. Brown announces all schools must stay closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. The state also asks school districts to not hold traditional, in-person graduation ceremonies.

April 8: The Oregon School Activities Association officially cancels high school sports for the remainder of the spring season. Competitions would not officially return until March 1, 2021.

April 8: The 40th annual Cascade Cycling Classic, scheduled for May 27-31, is canceled. The 40th edition of the pro cycling road race in Central Oregon is scheduled for June 2-6, 2021.

April 9: OSU postpones its graduation ceremonies at its Bend and Corvallis campuses. The ceremonies never occurred.

April 23: Unemployment in Central Oregon hits 12% amid pandemic closures and lockdowns.

April 29: Bend resident who has COVID-19 receives first convalescent plasma treatment, which is designed to boost the immune system to fight the virus.

May 4: Bend-La Pine Schools begins erecting billboards for graduates of its five high schools, in lieu of traditional ceremonies.

May 20: City of Bend adopts new rules to close parking spots, sidewalks for outdoor dining.

May 22: Interfor announces it will curtail operations at its Gilchrist sawmill due to weak economic conditions.

May 26: Nearly 40 COCC non-faculty staff members were furloughed, due to few students being on the college’s campus during COVID-19.

May 28: La Pine High School students participate in one-student-at-a-time, socially-distant graduation ceremonies inside the school gym. The other Bend-La Pine high schools followed suit the next week.

June 5: Deschutes and Jefferson counties approved for limited reopening, Crook County had been approved June 4.

June 10: Oregon Department of Education releases first draft of detailed, strict school-reopening guidelines — from spacing out desks to sanitizing everything frequently — in hope that in-person learning can resume in fall. These rules will be frequently updated over the next few months.

June 19: OSU-Cascades announces salary reductions and mandatory unpaid days off for staffers, in response to lost funding due to COVID-19’s economic impact.

July 1: On her first day in office, Bend-La Pine’s interim superintendent Lora Nordquist announces a tentative plan to reopen schools in the fall.

July 3: Redmond School District’s new superintendent, Charan Cline, also announces tentative plans to reopen schools in the fall.

July 6: Preschool classes at the private Seven Peaks School in Bend are abruptly canceled on the first day, after a staffer discovered she tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first school-related COVID-19 case in Central Oregon.

July 8: A 63-year-old Crook County woman is the first death recorded in Central Oregon from COVID-19. She was the state’s 225th death.

July 14: A 63-year-old man died of COVID-19 to become the first Deschutes County death from the virus.

July 22: Oregon Department of Education mandates that when students return to in-person learning, they must wear face coverings.

July 23: Civil penalty adopted by Bend City Council for people who violate mask mandate.

July 28: Gov. Brown unveils new, strict metrics for reopening schools. In response, multiple school districts — including Bend-La Pine, Redmond and Jefferson County — all canceled reopening plans for September.

Aug. 5: Traditional high school fall sports are postponed to spring. Oregon becomes one of 13 states to not play football in the fall.

Aug. 11: The state loosens school reopening rules for small, rural schools — opening the door for some schools in Crook County to plan for reopening in September.

Aug. 20: COCC announces its residence hall will stay closed for the fall term, and the majority of classes will continue to be held virtually.

Late August: Bend Park & Recreation and Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend announce plans to offer full-day day care for students in Bend during the fall, while distance learning continued.

Sept. 8: Elementary students in Crook County School District return to in-person school — the first group of Central Oregon students to do so since March.

Sept. 15: Amid dipping COVID-19 case counts in Deschutes County, Lora Nordquist announces plans to bring Bend-La Pine students in grades K-3 back to in-person school by Oct. 5. Redmond School District announces similar plans.

Sept. 23: OSU-Cascades begins its fall term with students living inside the dorms. However, most classes remain virtual, and there are strict COVID-19 restrictions for students living on campus.

Sept. 28: Sisters Elementary School reopens to in-person learning — the first public school in Deschutes County to do so. That same day, sharply rising COVID-19 case counts result in Bend-La Pine cancelling its reopening plans. Redmond School District makes the same decision the next day.

Oct. 5: Parents, students and teachers angry about school reopening delays hold a rally in front of the Bend-La Pine Administration Building in downtown Bend. The event seemingly has no effect on speeding up school reopenings.

Oct. 5: Crook County middle and high schools reopen for hybrid, full-day in-person learning. They are the first Central Oregon secondary schools to do so — and the only ones to do so until 2021.

Oct. 24: A group of more than 20 Summit High School seniors hold an unmasked homecoming party. School and health officials rebuke the teens after photos from the party appear on social media the next week.

Mid-November: Jefferson County and Culver school districts cancel plans to fully reopen in-person learning, due to COVID-19 case counts roaring back after a brief dip.

Nov. 18: Gov. Brown issued a freeze on all activities, forcing restaurants, gyms and movie theaters to close indoor operations. State health officials tell people to stay home for Thanksgiving. 

Dec. 1: To help students struggling academically in distance learning, Bend-La Pine Schools announces it will not award scores lower than 50% on assignments or tests.

Dec. 6: Exemplifying the tension between pro- and anti-school reopening groups, Jefferson County School District teacher flips off and screams at pro-reopening protesters in downtown Bend, telling them to kill themselves. The teacher is put on administrative leave the next day.

Dec. 7: Limited in-person instruction — where very small groups of students can learn on school campuses for brief periods of time — is canceled for the rest of December in Redmond School District, due to 91 students and teachers having to quarantine. Crook County School District is forced to shutter its in-person classes two days later for a similar reason.

Dec. 7: The OSAA decides to further postpone the start of its high school sports season to the first week of March.

Dec. 17: The first vaccines arrive, 975 doses, in Central Oregon for healthcare workers at St. Charles health System.

Dec. 23: Gov. Brown abruptly announces that Oregon school districts can decide for themselves not to reopen – the state will no longer force any schools to stay closed. After Christmas, local school districts scramble to announce tentative reopening plans for early 2021.

Dec. 29: Gov. Brown establishes new risk levels, placing 24 counties in extreme risk category.

2021

Jan. 11: A group of 47 teachers and certified staffers at Summit High School sign a letter, asking Bend-La Pine Schools to pause reopening their school until all staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine. A group of Bend High School teachers send Bend-La Pine a similar letter not long after.

Jan. 13: Joey Kansky, an educational assistant at Pine Ridge Elementary School, is the first Bend-La Pine staffer to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. All K-12 teachers statewide became eligible for the vaccine eight days later.

Jan. 21: A group of Bend high school students, calling themselves the Bend-La Pine Schools Student Union, post a statement critical of school reopenings. Later that week, they sent the Bend-La Pine School Board a list of safety demands in regards to school reopening.

Jan. 22: Due to a high number of school staffers in quarantine, Redmond School District postpones its school reopening plans by 20 days — from Feb. 2 to Feb. 22.

Jan. 25: Students in grades K-3 start in-person learning in Bend-La Pine: the first group in Central Oregon’s largest school district to do so.

Feb. 3: OSU-Cascades announces its June 13 graduation ceremony will be held virtually, marking the second straight year without a traditional commencement event.

Feb. 10: Gov. Brown reverses course on high school football, making play possible.

Feb. 11: During the first week of hybrid in-person high school classes in Bend-La Pine, a COVID-19 outbreak forces Summit High School to return to distance learning. More than 50 students test positive. Later investigation finds that the outbreak was likely caused by an unmasked party the weekend prior.

Feb. 11: OSU COVID-19 testing reveals 3% prevalence in Redmond.

Feb. 12: Deschutes County allowed to reopen with 25% capacity allowed at restaurants and gyms.

March 1: High school sports competitions officially return in Oregon, after having been suspended since March 12, 2020.

March 10: Pole Pedal Paddle — Central Oregon’s signature sporting event — canceled for the second year in a row.