… the overwhelming majority of our new COVID-19 cases are from people who have not yet been vaccinated. Younger, unvaccinated Oregonians are now showing up in our hospitals with severe cases of COVID-19.

Gov. Kate Brown

Governor Kate Brown today extended her declaration of a state of emergency for COVID-19 for 60 days, until June 28, 2021, unless earlier rescinded or extended.

The declaration is the legal underpinning for the Governor’s COVID-19 executive orders and the Oregon Health Authority’s health and safety guidance; it also provides additional flexibility for the state and private parties responding to the challenges of the pandemic, from allowing restaurants to offer cocktails-to-go to allowing greater flexibility in who may administer vaccines. Extending the state of emergency also helps ensure Oregon is able to fully utilize available federal COVID-19 relief and assistance, including assistance with vaccine distribution.

The full press release is available here.