UPDATE (March 21, 4:50 p.m. PT) — Twenty-five Portland area mayors called for a statewide stay-at-home order Saturday.
Related: Governor, Portland Mayor, Multnomah Chair: Stay At Home, Stay Healthy
The Metropolitan Mayors Consortium said urgent action is necessary to combat the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
“It is a time for unprecedented collective action and strong leadership at the local, state and federal levels,” MMC chair and Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis said. “The nature of a viral pandemic means that no individual city, particularly in a metropolitan area, can defeat this foe alone.”
The MMC advised Oregon Gov. Kate Brown that she should require that Oregonians comply with social distancing requirements at all times; order non-essential businesses to cease all activities except basic, minimum operations — not including businesses in which employees can work from home; prohibit public and private gatherings, with exceptions; and prohibit non-essential travel.
Lynn Peterson, council president of Metro, the Portland metro area’s regionally elected government body, is also urging Brown to take action.
“Metro does not have the authority to institute a region-wide order to stay at home,” Peterson said Saturday. “The only person who can make such an order statewide is Gov. Brown.”
Brown said Friday that she's not in support of a statewide version of the "shelter-in-place" policy California adopted.
The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians also released a statement Saturday supporting a statewide stay-at-home order, joining other public health and medical associations across the state.
“We believe a statewide stay-at-home order is the best step to take, quickly, to show the seriousness of the situation we face in Oregon,” OAFP President Ruth Chang said in the statement. “This is the best hope we have to keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed.”
The Metropolitan Mayors’ Consortium members include:
Mayor Denny Doyle, Beaverton
Mayor Brian Hodson, Canby
Mayor Jeffrey Dalin, Cornelius
Mayor Gery Schirado, Durham
Mayor Brian Cooper, Fairview
Mayor Peter Truax, Forest Grove
Mayor Shane Bemis, Gresham
Mayor Tom Ellis, Happy Valley
Mayor Steve Callaway, Hillsboro
Mayor Ken Gibson, King City
Mayor Kent Studebaker, Lake Oswego
Mayor Mark Hardie, Maywood Park
Mayor Mark Gamba, Milwaukie
Mayor Teri Lenahan, North Plains
Mayor Dan Holladay, Oregon City
Mayor Ted Wheeler, Portland
Mayor Walt Williams, Rivergrove
Mayor Keith Mays, Sherwood
Mayor Jason Snider, Tigard
Mayor Casey Ryan, Troutdale
Mayor Frank Bubenik, Tualatin
Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver (ex officio)
Mayor Russ Axelrod, West Linn
Mayor Tim Knapp, Wilsonville
Mayor Scott Harden, Wood Village
This story may be updated.
