PENDLETON — Umatilla County joined Oregon in letting residents show their faces in public.

County commissioners on Wednesday, June 30, in an administrative meeting voted to lift the county’s masking and social distancing mandates and remove pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The move comes as the state lifted its masking and distancing mandates June 30 — one of the last in the country to do so as nearly 180 million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 nationwide.

The county board’s vote come before the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced when it would lift its mask and distancing mandates in businesses. But later in the day, OSHA announced it would lift its rules for all workplaces, excluding some healthcare and transit facilities and airports.

Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said the county will lift workplace regulations starting July 1, signaling the end of nearly all pandemic-related restrictions in the county. The change does not applies to certain personnel in public service, such as people working in public health or in the county jail.

Murdock said lifting these restrictions will provide some relief, but with much of the county not vaccinated, he won’t immediately breathe easy.

“At least for our businesses and for the half of the county that are vaccinated, I would breathe easy,” he said. “But with the variants that are out there now and the growing danger, and now with us open, I have a great deal of concern for the people that chose not to be vaccinated. But it’s their decision and they certainly had every opportunity to make the choice if they wanted it.”

The county has lagged behind the statewide vaccination rates for months, with the third lowest rate per capita in Oregon, according to Oregon Health Authority data.

The county is averaging roughly 800 additional vaccinations each week, according to county officials. That’s about a 1% increase each week.

More than 29% of Umatilla County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an Oregonian/OregonLive database, compared to approximately 51% statewide.

And the county continues to report case rates disproportionately high compared to the rest of the state. Two weeks ago, the county reported 76 cases, up 35 from the previous week — the sharpest weekly case spike since April.

Reported cases declined last week to 56, the second highest since May. County officials have voiced concerns about the low vaccination rates heading into the Fourth of July weekend, when large gatherings could cause case spikes.