The executive order came down today from Governor Kate Brown amid COVID-19 coronavirus concerns: Oregonians are ordered to stay at home, and non-essential businesses must close. It is in effect until further notice, and violation is punishable by law.

The gist of it is, all non-essential gatherings of people of any size are prohibited, if unable to maintain a social distance separation of six feet. However, you can still go out for any essential needs (shopping, medical care, etc.) as long as you maintain the social distancing rule, and you can go outside for recreational activities under the same guidlines.

Grocery stores, restaurants, and similar can remain open (restaurants can still do take-out and delivery only). But there’s a lot to cover, so I’m copying and pasting the the summary from here:

Allowed (must keep 6 feet from others):

• Hospitals and health care
• Grocery stores
• Banks and Credit Unions
• Pharmacies
• Take-out/delivery from restaurants and bars
• Pet stores
• Gas stations
• Certain retail stores
• Outdoor activities like walking your dog, jogging, or biking in your neighborhood
• Child care facilities and babysitters (only if abiding by new rules)

Not Allowed:

• Social gatherings (parties, celebrations) with people from outside of your household
• Dine-in restaurants and bars
• Nightclubs and concerts
• Shopping at outdoor or indoor malls and retail complexes
• Fitness: Gyms, sports and fitness centers, health clubs, and exercise studios, dance and yoga studios
• Grooming: Hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, day spas and massage services, non-medical wellness spas, cosmetic stores, tattoo parlors
• Entertainment: Theaters, amusement parks, arcades, bowling alleys, music concerts, sporting events, museums, skating rinks
• Outdoors: State parks, playgrounds, campgrounds, pools, skate parks, festivals

In summary: stay home! If there’s no reason to go out, don’t do it, and if you are able to work at home, you must be doing that at this stage. I’ve been working at home for a week now, and I have to say it’s working out better than I thought it would. We can do this.