This page lists select actions through 31 July 2020 as Governors responded to the novel coronavirus. It is not intended to be exhaustive but is meant to highlight key actions and resources that may inform other states and territories. A full archive of NGA COVID-19 related material can be found here.
Oregon Health Authority coronavirus resource page.
Oregon Coronavirus Information & Resources
- February 28, 2020—Governor Brown convened a Coronavirus Response Team tasked with coordinating state and local agencies and health authorities. The group will meet regularly and make recommendations to the Governor.
- March 3, 2020—Governor Kate Brown wrote a letter to Vice President Pence requesting the release of additional PPE supplies from the federal government’s strategic national stockpile.
- March 5, 2020—The State of Oregon reached an agreement with health insurance companies to waive cost-sharing for patients who testing for COVID-19. The agreement means that people with insurance and group health plans won’t face co-payments, co-insurance, or deductibles for COVID-19 testing at in-network healthcare providers or emergency rooms. It will also cover immunization for covered people, when that becomes available.
- March 8, 2020—Governor Brown issued a state of emergency on Sunday, 9 March, 2020 as the state’s identified cases of novel coronavirus COVID-19 rise to 14.
- March 10, 2020—Governor Brown issued a policy to limit transmission of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities.
- March 12, 2020—Governor Brown announced statewide school closures for K-12 schools in Oregon from March 16th through March 31st.
- March 12, 2020—Oregon is sending an Incident Management Team to Seattle-King Co., WA to support planners and public health officials through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
- March 16, 2020- The Governor announced new statewide actions for the next four weeks regarding social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- March 17, 2020- The Governor signed an executive order which extended statewide school closures until April 28.
- March 17, 2020 – The Governor announced an extension of the statewide school closure to a total of six weeks, until April 28, and issued further guidance for Oregon’s public schools.
- March 18, 2020 – The Governor directed all Oregon hospitals, outpatient clinics, and health care providers, including veterinarians and dentists, to cease all non-emergency medical procedures to conserve personal protective equipment.
- March 22, 2020 – The Governor issued Executive Order 20-11, placing a 90-day moratorium on residential evictions for nonpayment.
- March 23, 2020 – The Governor issued Executive Order 20-12, directing Oregonians to stay at home to the maximum extent possible, outlining new guidance for child care facilities, and expanding the list of businesses that will be temporarily closed.
- March 25, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services issued a temporary emergency order requiring insurance companies to extend grace periods for premium payments, postpone policy cancellations and nonrenewals, and extend deadlines for reporting claims.
- March 25, 2020 – The Governor and the Oregon Department of Revenue announced an extension through July 15 for Oregon tax filing and payment deadlines for personal income taxes and some other taxes, such as corporate income and excise taxpayers.
- March 25, 2020 – The Governor called on the federal government to open a special enrollment period for Oregonians to buy health insurance and apply for federal subsidies through HealthCare.gov. Specifically, the Governor requested that the enrollment period open immediately and last at least 30 days.
- March 25, 2020- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Oregon’s request for a Section 1135 Medicaid waiver. The approved waiver enables Oregon to provide flexibilities in Medicaid provider screening and enrollment, forgo certain pre-admission screening and annual resident review assessments, lift prior authorization requirements, allow for reimbursement facility services in alternative settings, extend fair hearing timelines, and waive public comment and tribal consultation requirements for certain changes to the Medicaid state plan.
- March 26, 2020 – The Governor’s office announced the Creation of the “Small Business Stabilization Fund” within the Oregon Community Foundation with an initial contribution of $700,000 from the Oregon Growth Fund.
- March 27, 2020 – The Governor issued guidance on Executive Order 20-12, which directed Oregonians to “Stay Home, Save Lives.” Specifically, the guidance clarified:
- Social service agencies providing for basic food, water, shelter, and hygiene needs of any person who is unable to meet those same needs without the service providers should remain open; and,
- People experiencing unsheltered homelessness are not subject to enforcement under the executive order simply since they are in public and unable to stay at home.
- March 28, 2020 – The Governor launched a statewide public awareness campaign to inform Oregonians about the urgent importance of staying home to save lives.
- March 29, 2020 – The Governor announced the state’s major disaster declaration was approved by the President, with funding that would provide for:
- Management, control and reduction of immediate threats to public health and safety;
- Emergency operation and coordination costs;
- Medical sheltering; and,
- Purchase and distribution of food, water, medicine and other consumable supplies, including personal protective equipment.
- March 31, 2020 – The Governor announced a shipment of personal protective equipment was received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The state will immediately begin processing and shipping those supplies to all 36 counties and 9 tribes, which should expect to receive shipments by or before April 6.
- March 31, 2020 – The Division of Financial Regulations highlighted three coronavirus scams for Oregonians to avoid:
- Scams claiming to have top-secret vaccine or miracle cure, or claiming to offer government assistance or economic relief;
- Scams requiring downloads to view coronavirus maps; and,
- Scams using the market downturn to convince consumers to invest in a product with a guaranteed or very high return, including investments tied to COVID-19, such as medical supplies, vaccines, and other treatments.
- April 1, 2020 – The Governor issued Executive Order 20-13, placing a 90-day moratorium on commercial evictions for nonpayment due to business closures, specifically prohibiting landlords from charging tenants late fees for nonpayment of rent during the moratorium.
- April 2, 2020 – The Governor launched the Coronavirus Small Business Resource Navigator to connect small businesses to financial support and the information they need to ensure business sustainability.
- April 3, 2020 – The Governor launched the Coronavirus Small Business Resource Navigator, which will help connect small businesses to financial support and information they need to stay in business.
- April 4, 2020 – The Governor offered New York 140 ventilators to assist with the state’s medical surge.
- April 7, 2020 – The Governor convened the Oregon COVID-19 Medical Advisory Panel to begin developing recommendations to the Governor to address the needs of the health care system, provide advice and input, and serve as a resource to the Oregon Health Authority.
- April 7, 2020 – The Governor issued an executive order aligning the effective date for the prohibition on dine-in food and drink consumption with that of their Stay Home, Save Lives order.
- April 8, 2020 – The Governor extended school closures for the K-12 and post-secondary education systems through the end of the current academic term and school year.
- April 8, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Education released Graduation Pathways 2020, guidance detailing how Oregon’s high school seniors can earn their final set of high school credits and graduate on-time.
- April 9, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality created an online emission test certification for vehicle owners in the Portland and Medford emission testing areas to renew their registrations and obtain their certification online.
- April 9, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Revenue reminded businesses and individuals who pay their corporate or personal income tax quarterly that estimated payments for the first quarter 2020 are due April 15.
- April 9, 2020 – The Governor announced the state has distributed its first Abbott ID NOW rapid testing instruments to three rural Oregon hospitals.
- April 10, 2020 – The Governor received 78 pallets of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), replenishing the state’s stockpiles of critically needed N95 masks and other PPE.
- April 11, 2020 – The Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority launched a multi-agency support team to assess the needs of long-term care facilities experiencing increased cases and help them access resource to prevent further transmission among residents and staff.
- April 13, 2020 – The Governor announced a regional partnership with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Washington Governor Jay Inslee to create a shared vision for reopening their economies and harmonize lifting social distancing measures. The Governors have centered on four overarching goals:
- Protect vulnerable populations at risk for severe disease if infected;
- Ensure an ability to care for those who may become sick with COVID-19 and other conditions;
- Mitigate the non-direct COVID-19 health impacts, particularly in disadvantaged communities; and,
- Protect the public by ensuring any successful lifting of interventions includes the development of a system of testing, tracking and isolating.
- April 13, 2020 – The Governor announced that the Oregon Army National Guard facilitated transportation and distribution of medical personal protective equipment to all 36 counties, nine tribal nations, and two tribal health agencies in order to enhance needed supply inventories.
- April 13, 2020 – The Governor announced the state is ramping up its enforcement activity. Specifically, Oregon OSHA will begin systematically conducting spot checks to verify that employers are complying with the requirements – including closures to the public.
- April 13, 2020: The Employment Department announced that a glitch in the unemployment insurance system was telling people to start their claim process over from the beginning. They said that they were able to address many of these errors automatically and will have more information on their website as it becomes available.
- April 14, 2020 – The Governor introduced their framework for Reopening Oregon: a plan to restart public life and business while maintaining healthy communities. Once certain prerequisites are met, Oregon can begin to reopen by:
- Ramping up COVID-19 testing capacity in every region of Oregon;
- Developing robust contact tracing systems to track and contain COVID-19 cases; and,
- Establishing a quarantine and isolation program for new cases.
- April 16, 2020 – The Governor issued an executive order directing state and local governments to take necessary measures to facilitate public participation in decision-making – stressing the importance of civic engagement on the path to recovery.
- April 17, 2020 – The Governor issued an executive order preventing creditors or debt collectors from garnishing federal CARES Act recovery rebate payments.
- April 20, 2020 – The Governor announced that the Oregon National Guard will distribute approximately 395,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to all long-term care facilities in the state.
- April 21, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Revenue issued a directive that expands relief and provides additional relief to certain affected taxpayers and extended the tax filing and payment deadline to July 15th.
- April 23, 2020 – The Governor announced a framework to resume non-urgent procedures on May 1. Medical providers will need to demonstrate they can:
- Minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission to patients and healthcare workers;
- Maintain adequate hospital capacity in the event of a surge in COVID-19 cases; and,
- Support the health care workforce in safely resuming activities.
- The framework for hospitals and surgical centers is here and for medical and dental offices here.
- April 23, 2020 – The Governor launched the next phase of the state’s public awareness campaign to educate Oregonians about COVID-19. The campaign, Safe + Strong, focuses on community-centered outreach in 12 languages to connect people who are most at-risk of experiencing health disparities.
- April 24, 2020 – The Governor announced that Walgreens opened one of its first testing sites in Oregon, to be overseen by on-site pharmacists.
- April 27, 2020 – The Governor, along with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, welcomed Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak to the Western States Pact – a working group of Western state governors with a shared vision for modifying stay at home and fighting COVID-19.
- April 28, 2020 – The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration adopted a temporary rule to increase protections for workers against the spread of coronavirus in employer-provided housing and in labor-intensive farm operations.
- May 1, 2020 – The Governor introduced plans for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. Key elements of the testing plan include:
- Voluntary, widespread testing in partnership with OHSU;
- Unified coordination between all hospital labs to optimize Oregon’s available testing capacity, acting as one statewide system which will allocate resources to meet the state’s testing needs in every region; and
- A focus on collecting data to serve at-risk communities.
- May 4, 2020 – The Governor announced a machine at the University of Oregon will be used to decontaminate N-95 respirators, allowing the critical personal protective equipment to be used up to 20 times by frontline health care workers.
- May 5, 2020 – The Governor announced the limited opening of some state parks, outdoor recreation facilities and areas across Oregon for day use, with camping opportunities becoming available as federal, state, local, and private providers are able to prepare their facilities for visitors.
- May 5, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Department of Education announced that Oregon families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals will get cash benefits for the meals they would have received at school even if they have been accessing meals from schools during the closure.
- May 6, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services issued an emergency order for health insurance companies, requiring them to:
- Provide at least a 60-day grace period to pay any past due premiums;
- Pay claims for any covered services during the first 30 days of the grace period; and,
- Extend all deadlines for reporting claims and other communications, and provide members with communication options to meet physical distancing standards.
- May 7, 2020 – The Governor announced additional details of the Reopening Oregon framework, including guidance for counties and businesses on the phased reopening process.
- May 8, 2020- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved Oregon’s second request for a Medicaid 1135 waiver. The waiver allows Oregon to waive consent requirements for Home and Community-Based Services(HCBS), forgo evaluation and assessment requirements for HCBS, reimburse for HCBS services provided at an entity that also provides case management services, allow for HCBS in additional settings, and to modify timelines for levels of care determinations.
- May 11, 2020 – The Governor, together with the Western Pact states, sent a letter to Congressional leadership requesting $1 trillion in direct and flexible relief to states and local governments to avoid deep cuts to services like public health, public safety, public education and help people get back to work.
- May 14, 2020 – The Governor announced 28 counties were approved to begin entering Phase 1 of reopening on May 15 under the state’s reopening framework.
- May 15, 2020 – The Governor released statewide guidance for jurisdictions and businesses across the state as they begin Phase 1 of reopening.
- May 22, 2020 – The Governor urged members of the public to “stay local and to stay safe” during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. She was joined by 26 mayors making this request of the public.
- May 27, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality shared examples of Oregonian food workers.
- May 28, 2020 – The Governor announced that Washington County can begin entering Phase 1 of reopening on June 1 under the state’s framework for a safe and strong reopening.
- May 28, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services’ Division of Financial Regulation issued emergency orders for property and casualty, long-term care, and life and disability insurance. This process provides two important protections for Oregonians:
- A sustainable way for insurance customers to keep up with premium payments without falling behind; and,
- Insurance protection for a specific number of days for customers that are in a grace period.
- May 29, 2020 – The Governor announced a $30 million investment to secure the state’s food supply chain and protect essential agricultural workers.
- June 3, 2020 – The Governor announced details about Phase 2 of reopening, with 31 counties progressing to Phase 2 on June 5. Counties approved to enter Phase 2 must continue to meet Phase 1 metrics, including:
- Declining disease prevalence;
- Having an adequate number of contact tracers, including people reflective of the communities they serve;
- Establishing adequate testing, isolation and quarantine facilities, sufficient hospital surge capacity, and sufficient personal protective equipment supply;
- Counties must also meet additional prerequisites, including:
- Demonstrating that they can trace new cases within 24 hours;
- As counties see new cases, they must be able to identify where they are coming from at least 70% of the time; and,
- Counties cannot be experiencing a significant increase in cases.
- June 5, 2020 – The Governor approved 3 counties to move to phase 2 reopening on June 6.
- June 9, 2020 – The Governor announced the state is implementing a comprehensive coronavirus testing plan to protect the residents and staff of long-term care facilities, prioritizing those facilities at greatest risk for outbreaks. Additionally, public health officials will be working with long-term care facilities to implement recommended best practices for ongoing monitoring, including:
- Conducting active daily screenings for fever and COVID-like symptoms for all residents and staff, providing testing for any residents or staff with even mild symptoms. Residents who test positive should be isolated;
- Providing testing for all staff every month on a staggered weekly basis, with the goal of having 25 percent of all staff tested each week over the course of a month;
- Providing testing for all residents and staff if there is a single new confirmed or suspected resident case or a confirmed staff case, and retesting weekly until at least 14 days pass without a new positive result. Residents who test positive and are symptomatic should be isolated; and,
- Testing all new residents prior to admission or readmission, including transfers from hospitals or other health care facilities. Even new residents who test negative should be quarantined for 14 days.
- June 10, 2020 – The Governor announced she will be convening a Health Schools Reopening Council to advise her and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) during the Ready Schools, Safe Learners K-12 schools reopening process. The council will be charged with:
- Giving feedback on equitable policies and practices for a safe return to school;
- Informing additional guidance from ODE developed over the summer to help school districts implement their back-to-school plans;
- Receiving updates on school district plans and implementation; and,
- Reviewing COVID-19 status reports and evaluating outbreak management during the school year.
- June 11, 2020 – The Governor announced all county applications for further reopening are on hold for seven days while public health experts assess which factors are driving the spread of the virus and determine if the state should adjust its approach to reopening.
- June 15, 2020 – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality announced it will reopen many of its vehicle inspection stations beginning this week.
- June 16, 2020 – The Governor announced she will convene a Special Session of the Oregon Legislature to take up proposed legislation to improve police accountability and address the COVID-19 pandemic on June 24.
- June 17, 2020 – The Governor announced she will be instituting a requirement to wear face coverings while in indoor public spaces for the following counties: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Hood River, Marion, Polk, and Lincoln. This mandate will take effect June 24.
- June 17, 2020 – The Governor announced she is moving Marion, Polk, and Hood River Counties to Phase 2 beginning June 19.
- June 17, 2020 – The Governor announced she is moving Multnomah County to Phase 1 on June 19.
- June 17, 2020 – The Governor announced she will be grouping several counties together as regional units for future reopening decisions.
- June 19, 2020 – The Governor issued updated guidance from the Oregon Health Authority regarding the use of face coverings in indoor public spaces for Mulnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Marion, Polk, Hood River, and Lincoln Counties, effective June 24.
- June 23, 2020 – The Governor announced the state reached an agreement with 10 insurance companies to continue providing expanded telehealth options through at least December 31. Additionally, the Oregon Health Plan will continue to offer pay parity and other allowances for many telehealth services, offering the same rate as an in-person visit for physical health services, behavioral health services, and some dental and long-term care services.
- June 26, 2020 – The Governor announced that Clatsop County will require face coverings in indoor public spaces, effective July 1.
- June 29, 2020 – The Governor announced that Oregonians statewide will be required to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces, beginning July 1.
- June 30, 2020 – The Governor extended her declaration of a state of emergency for an additional 60 days, until September 4.
- July 2, 2020 – The Governor launched a statewide public awareness campaign to inform Oregonians about the urgent importance of wearing face coverings when out in public.
- July 3, 2020 – The Governor announced new enforcement measures on face covering, physical distancing, and occupancy standards for businesses over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and thereafter.
- July 7, 2020 – The Governor’s Healthy Schools Reopening Council convened for its first remote meeting to advise the Governor and the Oregon Department of Education as school districts develop their plans for a safe return to school for Oregon’s students.
- July 13, 2020 – The Governor announced new requirements for face coverings and limits on social gatherings, effective July 15.
- July 23, 2020 – The Governor announced the release of draft guidance for early learning and child care programs across the state to safely reopen in the fall.
- July 28, 2020 – The Governor released metrics to guide school district decisions about when it is safe to resume in-person instruction, and when a transition to comprehensive distance learning is necessary.
