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Friends and Neighbors,
Governor's Executive Order
Yesterday, Governor Kate Brown 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. This weekend our coastal towns were flooded with Oregonians and out-of-state visitors and the towns were overwhelmed. Their store shelves were depleted, all when the grocery store options are already limited for them. The crowds presented a heightened risk to the safety and well-being of their residents. The concern over the risk of an influx of people to their small, rural hospitals was real. It led most of the towns along the coast to ask guests to pack-up and head home. The message we want to send to Oregonians is this situation is serious and we need people to take it seriously. This move is about prevention, stopping the spread. We will address the reaction/response to the crisis, but we need people to stay home, be safe and be well.
About the order:
- 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.
Following this order will save lives, while still allowing businesses to function if they can protect employees and customers through social distancing. While many businesses and organizations that are heavily dependent on foot traffic and in-person interactions have already closed or will close under the expanded order, other businesses that make robust plans to meet social distancing requirements—and enforce those requirements—may remain in operation, preserving jobs while ensuring health.
Retail businesses closed by Executive Order 20-12 include:
- 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, and non-medical wellness spas
- Entertainment: Theaters, amusement parks, arcades, bowling alleys, and pool halls
Additional Resources
Education Links
City Links
Food Resources
During this week of Spring Break in Oregon, some school districts are not providing free lunches. See the resources below for help finding meals this week:
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Accessing Food During the COVID-19 Outbreak - a comprehensive list of food resources from how to apply for SNAP (or report a decrease in income) to food pantries to school meal replacements.
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School Districts Offering Grab and Go Meals - Nearly all school districts are offering "grab and go" meals at locations (such as schools or bus dropoff sites) since many kids now don't have access to school meals. We've compiled a list of districts that have posted their policies, and we're updating it daily.
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211info is committed to providing information and referrals to food resources across Oregon and Southwest Washington. They have information for over 1,000 different food programs including food pantries, farmers markets, community gardens, fresh food distribution and summer food programs for youth.
Ways You Can Help
The Oregon Food Bank is continuing to provide food to hungry families across Oregon during the COVID-19 outbreak. They need our help in continuing this great work. Remember, a small donation of $10 generates 30 meals.
Meals on Wheels service will continue to home-bound elderly; however, the delivery model has changed. To limit contact between volunteers and home-bound participants, meal delivery will be limited to three days per week rather than four. Due to the drastic change in its service delivery model, Meals on Wheels People is incurring costs that are unprecedented. Donations are encouraged to allow us to continue to provide food and wellness checks for home-bound elderly. Donations can be made here.
Blood Drives/Donations
Right now, the American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this coronavirus outbreak. Healthy individuals are needed to donate now. The top priority of the Red Cross is the safety of donors, volunteers, employees and blood recipients, and they are committed to transparency with the American public during this evolving public health emergency. At each blood drive or donation center, Red Cross employees follow thorough safety protocols, including:
- Wearing gloves and changing them often
- Wiping down donor-touched areas after every collection
- Using sterile collection sets for every donation
- Preparing the arm for donation with aseptic scrub
- Conducting donor mini-physicals to ensure donors are healthy and well on day of donation
They have also increased vigilance concerning some of these safety protocols including:
- Enhanced disinfecting of equipment
- Providing hand sanitizer for use before entering and throughout the donation appointment
- Temperature checks before presenting donors enter the blood drive or donation center
- Spacing beds, where possible, to follow social distancing practices between donors
During this time, blankets typically used by platelet, Power Red and AB Elite donors at Red Cross blood donation centers will be laundered after each use, which may limit the availability. Donors are encouraged to bring their own blankets, but electric blankets and heating pads are not permitted.
To ensure their staff are healthy each day, they have implemented standard staff health assessments prior to all blood drives.
Bloodworks Northwest has transitioned into an appointment only system. If you’d like to donate blood, please visit this link and find out how you can safely donate.
Kids Activities to do at Home
- The Oregon Zoo is going live! Tune in for new videos every week. After each video link learn more about these animals and how to help them! The activities were designed for children ages K-5 (but they’re inviting animal lovers of all ages to join in the fun!)
- The Librarians at the Peters Township Public Library in McMurray, PA created a Harry Potter themed Digital Escape Room! You can complete this escape room as a family, or individual, you can compete against friends and try it multiple times. Click here for access!
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Chrome Music Lab is a website that makes learning music more accessible through fun, hands-on experiments.
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Scholastic is offering free access to books, lessons and more for grades K-9.
- Through the Washington County Cooperative Library Services, parents can access a digital library is full of titles and features that make it easy for your child to enjoy great digital books! You can also use Kanopy and access over 30,000 streaming movies and documentaries with your library card.
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Practice Self-Care
Make sure you are taking the time to practice self-care, that is so important to your mental health during these uncertain times. Here are some great resources that can help you create a moment of peace.
Thank you all for doing your part to keep all Oregonians protected. Remember Stay Home, Save Lives.
Onward and Upward,
 Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-487, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman
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