Lake of the Woods Resort has been operating in some way since 1922.It originally served as a fishing retreat; hosting only a handful of visitors at a time.
Almost a century later, resort management says 2020 is a year they never could have prepared for.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented amount of people on any given day up here,” says George Gregory, owner and general manager of Lake of the Woods Resort.
He says the joys of being outdoors are a bit different this year.
“Having to adapt to the new regulations has been an interesting challenge.”
At Lake of the Woods, there’s hundreds of camping sites, some of them creating close quarters between visitors.
There’s also multiple small beaches that can get crowded.
Gregory says, “We’ve had a few instances where people argue about space and who got there first. You know, we’re all in this together and we all need to do the right thing to get through it.”
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health is in charge of investigating how Oregon businesses deal with Covid.
“We were actually asked by the governor to step in and take a role that we hadn’t had before,” says Leah Andrews, OSHA representative.
While outdoor recreation presents very different challenges than office buildings in regards to Covid-19, OSHA says the approaches businesses must take are similar.
“Some of it’s just being courteous and kind to others, and then there’s also the fact that it’s a public health requirement that we put a mask on when we go into public spaces.”
OSHA says that any business looking for consultation or help handling issues relating to covid-19 can contact it directly.
It say consultation is free and confidential.
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