Public health officials from six rural counties, including Baker, have sent a letter to the Oregon Health Authority asking state officials to ease COVID-19 restrictions in the counties and give local health officials authority to decide whether more stringent limits are needed to combat the virus. The Dec. 28 letter is from public health administrators in Baker, Grant, Harney, Klamath, Lake and Malheur counties. Nancy Staten is the director of the Baker County Health Department. The county officials contend that the current restrictions for counties in the extreme risk category, including Baker, Klamath and Malheur, have âsignificantly different implications in rural counties than in more densely populated ones.â