by Staff reports – The Mail Tribune

Tuesday, March 24th 2020

The Jackson County Emergency Operations Center issued a message to the public after Gov. Kate Brown instituted a statewide order Monday for people to stay at home except for essential trips like going to work and buying food. The message comes from Jackson County officials and a bipartisan group of state legislators — Sen. Jeff Golden, Rep. Pam Marsh, Rep. Duane Stark and Rep. Kim Wallan.

The Mail Tribune is printing the message in its entirety:

We face an invisible threat. We know that the COVID-19 is spreading through our community. We also know that people who are healthy today may not show signs of the disease for two weeks. Here is our challenge: we must slow the spread of this infection now or it will be much worse when it materializes.

This invisible epidemic requires significant but temporary changes in our lives. As difficult as this might be, we are confident that Jackson County residents and businesses will step up.

Oregon’s “Stay Home to Stay Healthy” order asks all of us to remain at home unless we need to go out to get groceries, see a medical professional, or do something that just can’t wait. Businesses that cannot incorporate physical distancing between and among workers and customers will need to close. However, the businesses we rely on for daily needs, including grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, etc., will remain open as long as they incorporate distancing.

These are unprecedented times. But the good news is that if we adopt responsive and responsible behaviors we can bend the infection curve, preserve medical facilities for the most fragile among us, and protect our community’s wellbeing.

As hard as this is, it is temporary. Stay home, stay healthy, and we will return to life as usual as soon as possible.