By a 3-2 vote, Hood River County Commissioners decided to send a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown to request the County be allowed to move to Phase 2 of reopening on Friday.  The move was made in spite of a continued increase in COVID-19 cases in the County, with County Health Director Patricia Elliott putting the latest count at 61 positive tests and six presumptive cases.  But Elliott said all of the new cases in the last week have been connected to outbreaks at agricultural facilities, there still has only been one COVID-19 hospitalization in the County, and they have been able to keep up with contact tracing.  She felt there would be very little difference between being in Phase 1 or Phase 2.  Commission Chair Mike Oates, who had voted no on sending the letter last week, joined Bob Benton and Karen Joplin in voting yes on Monday, saying his concerns about being able to keep up with tracing have been addressed.  Les Perkins and Rich McBride voted no, with Perkins saying he was concerned about the gathering limitations being too high, but County legal counsel indicated if local officials tried to have tighter restrictions than the state they could be open to constitutional challenges.