City and County Declare State of Emergency

Eric King, Bend City Manager, declared a local state of emergency at 1 p.m. this afternoon in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. City Council will vote to ratify the declaration on Wednesday.


President Trump declared a national emergency at noon PST today. Gov. Kate Brown announced a state of emergency for Oregon on Thursday morning. The World Health Organization called the worldwide outbreak on Wednesday a pandemic and has encouraged all levels of government to act expeditiously to slow the spread.

The City's state of emergency will be in effect through April 15. This order allows the City Manager to take quick action to protect people who live here, and buy items and services without the standard procedures.

“My primary focus is to restrict the spread of COVID-19 and to maintain the health of our workforce so employees can continue to provide crucial City services,” said King in a statement. “I have and will continue to develop emergency policies regarding the use of sick leave, vacation leave, telecommuting, meeting protocols, and more, which will be in effect for the duration of the emergency.”

During this state of emergency, the City will not be shutting off water due to non-payment of water bills. As announced yesterday, all advisory committee meetings and public, project-specific meetings and open houses are canceled. City employees have been encouraged to telecommute and conduct meetings online.

Livestream this Wednesday's Bend City Council online, and contact city council through email with any questions and concerns regarding that agenda or other City issues.

Deschutes County State of Emergency

At 2 p.m. today, the Deschutes County Commissioners issued an emergency declaration. Deschutes is one of only two other counties that have declared a state of emergency. This authorizes the County to implement emergency actions, access more resources and recover some of the costs associated with the County's response to COVID-19. The County has a specific webpage dedicated to updates on the coronavirus in this area.

More about COVID-19

The first presumed case of COVID-19 in Deschutes County was reported March 11 by Deschutes County Public Health. As of March 13, there are 30* confirmed cases in Oregon across nine counties. (*UPDATE, 3/13 6:15pm: The number is at 32, after the announcement of two new cases in Deschutes County Friday night.) Starting Monday, all schools across Oregon will close through the end of the month. Stay up to date with all the latest coronavirus news in Central Oregon at the Source’s “Coronavirus HQ” page.

The Source is maintaining an active, growing list of event cancellations in Central Oregon. Check out our event cancellations in Central Oregon page, and email [email protected] with updated event information.