Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday extended her emergency declaration regarding the Covid-19 pandemic for an additional 60 days, until Jan. 2, 2021.
The declaration is the legal underpinning for her Covid-19 executive orders and the Oregon Health Authority’s health and safety guidance.
The governor reviews and re-evaluates the emergency declaration and related executive orders every 60 days. The last time she extended the state of emergency for 60 days, its expiration coincidentally fell on Nov. 3 — Election Day.
The news comes amid a surge of new cases of the novel coronavirus in Oregon, including a new daily record that was set last week, with 550 new cases. More than 600 Oregonians have died from complications related to Covid-19.
“Extending the Covid-19 state of emergency is not something I do lightly, but we know all too well that not taking action would mean an even greater loss of life,” Brown said in a statement. “The second wave of Covid-19 has arrived in the United States, and this time it is hitting all of our communities.”
In the statement, Brown urged Oregonians to continue to follow the standard public health guidance of frequent hand-washing, wearing face coverings while in public, maintaining physical distance, staying home when sick and avoiding social get-togethers — especially indoors.
“My goal is to keep Oregon on track to open more schools for in-person instruction for our students — and to continue to reopen, and keep open, our businesses, communities, and economies,” the governor said. “Oregon is not an island. Without safety precautions in place, we could quickly see our case counts spike as well.”
The state of emergency declaration is the legal underpinning for the executive orders Brown has issued throughout the pandemic, including those governing the operations of businesses, child care, schools and higher education.
Extending the state of emergency declaration allows those orders to stay in effect.
