Oregon Governor Kate Brown Tells Oregonians to “Stay Home, Save Lives”
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I know this is an incredibly hard time. Our day-to-day lives have taken a dramatic shift and our health and well-being are at stake due to coronavirus/COVID-19. During this time, it is important that we take care of ourselves, our neighbors and vulnerable individuals in our communities by following regulations and precautions from state officials and medical experts.
As Governor Kate Brown stated, “[N]one of us have ever been through this before, and that means there is no way to know exactly what lies ahead. We don’t know yet when this outbreak will end, or what changes this will bring for our state and for our country. But I want to make sure that we’ve done all we can to end it as quickly as possible.”
Legislative Action
As you are likely aware, the Legislature has convened the Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response.The Committee is looking for ways to provide stability for individuals and families, address our health care system needs, and provide support to employers and their employees. The policies the Committee is considering address big picture needs and smaller fixes to assist struggling Oregonians in this crisis and plan for the long-term needs. The Committee anticipates passing urgent policies in an upcoming Special Session.
Governor Kate Brown today issued Executive Order 20-12, directing everyone in Oregon to stay at home to the maximum extent possible and adding to the list of businesses that will be temporarily closed to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Oregon. The order is effective immediately, and remains in effect until ended by the Governor.
Initially, the Governor asked Oregonians to stay home and practice social distancing. However, thousands flocked to the beaches of our coastal communities, our trails, our parks, and our city streets, potentially spreading COVID-19 and endangering the lives of others across the state.
The Order includes the following provisions:
All non-essential social and recreational gatherings of individuals are prohibited immediately, regardless of size, if a distance of at least six feet between individuals cannot be maintained. Gatherings of members of the same residential household are permitted.
It closes and prohibits shopping at specific categories of retail businesses, for which close personal contact is difficult to avoid, such as arcades, barber shops, hair salons, gyms and fitness studios, skating rinks, theaters, and yoga studios.
It requires businesses not closed by the order to implement social distancing policies in order to remain open, and requires workplaces to implement teleworking and work-at-home options when possible.
It directs Oregonians to stay home whenever possible, while permitting activities outside the home when social distance is maintained. It closes playgrounds, sports courts, and skate parks, among other types of outdoor recreation facilities. Those that remain open are required to strictly adhere to social distancing guidelines.
It outlines new guidelines for child care facilities, setting limits and rules on amounts of children allowed in care, and outlining that child care groups may not change participants.
Failure to comply with the order will be considered an immediate danger to public health and subject to a Class C misdemeanor.
The Business list includes:
-Shopping: Outdoor and indoor malls and retail complexes, although individual types of businesses not subject to the measures may stay open.
-Fitness: Gyms, sports and fitness centers, health clubs, and exercise studios
-Grooming: Barbershops, beauty and nail salons, non-medical wellness spas
-Entertainment: Theaters, amusement parks, arcades, bowling alleys, and pool halls
