SALEM, Oregon - Governor Brown has given a serious warning that anyone who violates the new covid-19 laws could receive large fines and be arrested with 30 days in jail.
Governor Kate Brown’s placed a two-week “freeze” to limit the size of social gatherings to a maximum six people. Those who fail to abide by the new mandate could face fines up to $1,250 or get some time behind bars.
Governor Kate Brown’s two-week lockdown, which could be extended with the stroke of her pen, calls for:
[ul]
[li]Restaurants – Take-out only[/li][li]Gyms and Fitness – Closed[/li][li]Indoor Recreation – Closed[/li][li]Venues – Closed[/li][li]Faith-Based Organizations – Open, Capacity limited to 25 indoors and 50 outdoors[/li][li]Grocery and Pharmacies – Open, 75% capacity[/li][li]Other retail – Open, 75% capacity[/li][li]Office Environments – Closed with exceptions[/li][li]Long-term care facility visitations – Outdoor only[/li][li]Personal services – Open[/li][li]Congregate sheltering – Follow current guidelines[/li][li]Youth Programs, School, Childcare – Follow current guidelines[/li][li]Private Social Events – limited to two households or six individuals in a closed group (including Thanksgiving)[/li][li]Wear a mask in your own home on Thanksgiving, only removing it when eating[/li][li]Don’t leave your home during the two-week shutdown[/li][/ul]
Gov. Brown said she would work with state police and local law enforcement to encourage Oregonians to comply with her directive.
“For the last eight months, I have been asking Oregonians to follow the letter and the spirit of the law and we have not chosen to engage law enforcement. At this point in time, unfortunately, we have no other option,” the governor said last weekend. “We are trying to stop this ferocious virus from spreading even more quickly and far wide, and to save lives.”
Tootie Smith, who is set to start her term as GOP chairwoman of the Clackamas Board of County Commissioners in January, said she will not obey the governor’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions for Thanksgiving.
She said she will be celebrating the holiday with “as many family and friends as I can find.”
The majority of the freeze won’t take effect until Wednesday, but the governor said social gathering limits begin immediately.
Brown said she would limit her own Thanksgiving to four people, adding, “I know it doesn’t look like the Thanksgiving holiday we’ve all been planning for weeks, and I know it’s really, really hard, but unfortunately it’s a necessity right now.”
According to a spokesperson for the governor, the Oregon State Police “will be working with local law enforcement to enforce the Governor’s orders, in the same way local law enforcement officers respond to noise complaints for loud parties, for example, and issue citations.”