Oregon Governor Kate Brown this afternoon announced a statewide cancellation of gatherings of 25 people or more, restricted restaurants and bars to carry-out and delivery business only, and is urging all other businesses to evaluate their practices to accommodate social distancing measures as the battle to reduce the spread of COVID-19 continues. Those orders will be effective for four weeks beginning Tuesday. Brown did emphasize the gathering measure does exempt essential locations like work places, grocery stores, pharmacies, and retail stores, but she also urged Oregonians to avoid any gatherings of ten or more.
The Governor says the actions taken in the last week are all designed to help flatten the curve of coronavirus transmission in the state. She says her goals are to decrease transmission rates of the virus, preserve hospital capacity for those who need it the most, and mitigate the real world and economic impacts on Oregonians. Brown said she is assembling a Health Care System Response Joint Task Force to manage health care resources and build off a decision by Portland metropolitan area hospitals to act as one unified health care system for COVID-19.
Oregon Health Sciences University Chief Medical Officer Renee Edwards outlined how many beds the state may need if current modeling is accurate, saying treating those with the virus that need hospitalization by April 11 will require 1,000 hospital beds, including 400 in intensive care.
The modeling, which Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen says is still preliminary and not yet finished, assumes the number of COVID-19 cases in Oregon will double every 6.2 days, and that 20 percent of those who become infected will require hospitalization. As of Monday there were 36 cases in Oregon. Brown said the state will add hospital beds in non-hospital settings.
A State Unified Command organization structure has been put together by the Office of Emergency Management, similar to what is used for wildfires and other disasters. The Governor also says she has put together a coronavirus economic advisory council that will have a report in coming days, and the state’s Economic Recovery Council that was used during the Eagle Creek Fire will meet Tuesday and will also have a report in a few days.
Brown expects there will be a special session of the Legislature convened in a few weeks, and she also said they are reevaluating the date for schools to resume classes on April 1 in the wake of her latest restriction on gatherings, noting further decisions are coming on that topic in the next couple of days.
Brown also declared an “Abnormal Disruption of the Market” due to COVID-19 as requested by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, allowing the AG to take action against any business, or online vendor, who upsells the price of essential consumer goods by more than 15 percent. She also urged Oregonians to stop purchasing huge supplies of certain goods, saying the retail industry has told state officials they have the supplies that are needed. The Governor advised people to only purchase what they would need for about a week.