Gov. Kate Brown, at a 2020 press event, wearing her social distancing mask in public.

Oregon lifted the pandemic limits in place for over a year today.

“When Oregon reaches 70% or by Wednesday, June 30, we will lift the safety programs we have relied on and open our economy,” Gov. Kate Brown said in a press call on Friday morning.

Mandates on masks, social distancing and capacity limits of restaurants and venues have been removed.

“Effectively, Oregon is 100% open for business,” she said.

But Brown and health officials said that the crisis for the state is not over.

“Some 98% of people dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated,” Brown said.

Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen said the pandemic is not over, but the management of the crisis will shift to local officials.

County commissioners will be responsible for public health decisions, and the state will only compile statistics and offer assistance.

“Local officials will be responsible for those decisions and for the consequences,” Allen said.

Allen warned that areas with high numbers of unvaccinated residents were in danger of infection flare-ups with the limits lifted.

“They’re dry tinder,” Allen said.

Setting a firm deadline was needed as the state headed into the popular July 4 weekend.

“Obviously businesses and venues need certainty on reopening,” Brown said.

Decisions on schools will also shift to local leaders.

Oregon policy intends to have “full-time, in person instruction,” said Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education.

New guidance to schools will be sent by June 30 and will include summer school recommendations.

Brown said she believed the new system will work and add flexibility instead of a one-way approach across all 36 counties.

But she did not rule out statewide emergency orders if the virus makes a widespread resurgence.

“We obviously don’t know what the future holds,” she said.