Oregon Governor Kate Brown held a news conference Monday morning to, in her words, “sound the alarm”. She stated the virus is spreading rapidly across the state and the state had more cases the last week than in the entire month of May. According to statistics, half of the cases in the state are persons under 40 and one third are persons under 30. She reported the state had recorded its second death of an Oregonian in their 30s.
The Governor announced two steps the state is taking – first, a statewide ban on indoor gathering of more than 10 persons, although that does not apply to businesses and churches. And beginning Wednesday, face covering is required outdoors if you cannot keep social distancing of at least 6 feet. She is still counting on business owners, along with state agencies to do the main enforcing. But she said citations, fines and closures are possible for businesses not following the rules. The Governor said she doesn’t want to force another closing of businesses if she can avoid it.
The Director of the Oregon State Health Authority, Patrick Allen said if Covid-19 keeps increasing, cases in the state could triple in the next 6 weeks. He said contact tracing is very important, and asks that if you are contacted by a tracer, please respond.
The Department of Education is working with local school districts to hopefully open schools this Fall, but it must be done safely.