Oregon Governor Extends Coronavirus State of Emergency Until July

Oregon Democratic Governor Kate Brown announced that she is extending the state’s state of emergency declaration until the month of July, ostensibly maintaining a stay-at-home order for the next two months.

Brown is saying that she’ll have the ability to revoke the state of emergency before its planned July 6th expiration date. The original state of emergency order was enacted on March 8th, and would’ve expired on May 7th without an extension.

“Extending the state of emergency declaration allows those orders to stay in effect, however the governor can still lift her orders as the COVID-19 situation warrants,” explained the governor’s office in a press release. “Our efforts to move forward with safely reopening Oregon will be gradual, incremental, and based on science and data.”

Some restrictions are being lifted under the updated emergency order, most notably allowing hospitals to perform non-urgent medical procedures. However, rules prohibiting large gatherings and the closure of businesses will stay in place unless Brown revokes her order.

Although the expiration date of Brown’s state of emergency order is now one of the latest in the country, Oregon’s coronavirus situation isn’t as severe as the other western states. Just over 100 people have died of the disease as of Sunday morning, whereas 830 have died in neighboring Washington.