 * “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
—Helen Keller
For the time being we’ll be using this newsletter to provide links to what we think are some of the most useful resources for weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. Please be sure follow the guidelines and social distancing practices provided by our public health authorities to get us through the crisis.
We know you might be missing the outdoors, so we thought we'd bring the outdoors inside. This photo was provided by Adam. Have a photo you've taken and want to share with us? Send it to sen.jeffgolden@oregonlegislature.gov with the subject “Photo Reminder.” We’ll use some in future newsletters.
Yesterday Governor Kate Brown issued an especially important Executive Order on this crisis. A summary of its provisions is here and there are more details later in the newsletter.
Nicknamed “Stay at home, stay healthy,” it puts the force of law behind earlier suggestions to minimize our personal contact with other people, and at a minimum to maintain a distance of at least six feet from other people who aren’t in our immediate households. Bottom line: our best, possibly only, chance to slow down disease transmission and head off an historic catastrophe is to distance ourselves from one another, and to consistently follow the anti-viral hand-washing and cleaning routines.
For how long? We just don’t know. If everyone follows the guidelines as carefully as they possibly can, the virus could peak and begin to fade out in a couple of weeks, as it may have already in South Korea. When people ignore the social distancing rules, the flow of transmission continues and the duration of the emergency—with all of its isolation, inconvenience and pain—gets longer.
Oregon lawmakers on both sides of the aisle understand this. Today The Mail Tribune published this joint statement from Jackson County legislators and county commissioners. I appreciate the way our diverse local leaders have put aside other differences to keep our eyes on what most matters right now.
I appreciate how many of you have been keeping in touch with me at sen.jeffgolden@oregonlegislature.gov. I want to close today with an email I received yesterday from a local health provider:
Senator Golden,
I am a nurse at one of the busiest hospitals in our state. I am beyond concerned that we do not have enough protective equipment to protect ourselves during this crisis. Not having people shelter in place until we have enough protective equipment is irresponsible and puts the lives of our health care workers at risk. This crisis is expected to become more severe in the coming weeks, which means we will see an increased need for nurses and equipment. Having everyone stay home extends our limited resources and saves lives, including the lives of the front-line care givers. Please consider the lives you will save in enacting a stay at home order. I understand that you are balancing lives and livelihood, but as Gov. Pritzker stated, "ultimately, you can't have a livelihood if you don't have a life".
Please stay at home as much as you can and stay healthy. Right now, that’s doing what you can do.
Senator Jeff Golden
Senate District 3 (Rogue Valley)
Governor's Executive Order:
On March 23rd, Governor Brown issued Executive Order 20-12, directing everyone to stay home if possible and requiring that additional businesses temporarily shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. The order includes the following:
- 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.
For a full list of businesses affected you can find the full text of the Executive Order here, and a list of required closures in the photo below.
From the Governor's Executive Order 20-12; Page 4
You can find an article describing the Executive Order in Spanish here.
How You Can Help:
- The Governor issued an order to preserve personal protective equipment (PPE). If you have PPE - things like surgical masks, gloves, etc. - consider donating them here.
- The Red Cross is asking people to still go out and make blood donations if they feel well enough to do so. The Surgeon General has stressed the importance of donating blood at this time, and the Red Cross has taken extra steps to make sure that donors and Red Cross employees stay safe. You can read more about them here, and you can make an appointment to donate blood at RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-733-2767.
Utility Supports:
Meals for Students:
Many school districts will continue to provide free meals for students.
For the Medford School District: Free “grab and go” meals for kids 18 and under will be served at six locations throughout the district (on weekdays) from Monday, March 16 through Tuesday, March 31. That includes the week of spring break. Breakfast will be served from 9:00AM - 10:00AM and lunch will be served from 11:30AM - 12:30PM.
Locations are as follows:
- North Medford High School 1900 N Keene Way Dr, Medford, OR 97504
- Howard Elementary School 286 Mace Rd, Medford, OR 97501
- Jefferson Elementary School 333 Holmes Ave, Medford, OR 97501
- Roosevelt Elementary School 1212 Queen Anne Ave, Medford, OR 97504
- Jackson Elementary School 713 Summit Avenue, Medford, OR 97501
- Oak Grove Elementary School 2838 W Main Street, Medford, OR 97501
Visitors are asked to enter through designated doors, pick up a meal from the cafeteria and then take the meal to go. Gathering inside the school will be discouraged. We are grateful to our MSD staff who are volunteering to staff the sites!
For all other school districts offering this valuable service and more information on how our schools are responding to COVID-19, please refer to the links below:
Meals for Adults:
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The Oregon Food Bank has put together a "Food Finder" page to help locate local pantries and food assistance sites. They want to make sure that food is available to all who need it. If you enter your address, the Food Finder will tell you what services are in your area and is available in multiple languages. Find the Oregon Food Bank's Food Finder by clicking here.
- Access has put together a lengthy list of local food pantries.
Business Resources:
Travel:
- Had to cancel travel because of the coronavirus? OSPIRG has put together a handy guide for how to refund your travel plans and how various airlines and hotels have adjusted their policies in response to the outbreak.
Shopping:
- Many grocery stores are setting aside specific hours for vulnerable populations. You can find more information here.
- The Northwest Grocery Association has put together some guidelines to help make sure we all stay safe when we need to go grocery shopping. Check it out here.
For Parents:
- PBS is putting together daily activities for kids who have to stay home due to school closures. You can sign up to get those activities sent too your email if you sign up here.
Please remember to watch the news and follow the advice from experts at the CDC, OHA, and Jackson County Public Health, and directives from the Governor's office. We'll get through this and we'll do it by working together.
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