The pressure is building on Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown to issue a strict statewide “stay at home” order in hopes of preventing spread of the coronavirus.

The Oregon Nurses Association joined a regional group of mayors Saturday imploring the governor to issue the order, which she has resisted thus far.

Late Saturday afternoon, the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians, which represents more than 1,700 physicians, family medicine residents and medical students, did the same. "This is the best hope we have to keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed,” said Ruth Chang, president of the physicians’ group.

The Northwest Consortium of Mayors voted 24-1 to call on Brown to issue the statewide order. Absent that, the mayors want to issue their own citywide stay-at-home orders within their boundaries, said Larry Morgan, a senior manager at the city of Gresham. Those cities include Gresham, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Hillsboro and others.

Brown will issue an order of her own on Monday, but it won’t be a stay-at-home order. “They will be further measures to insure aggressive social distancing,” said Nik Blosser, Brown’s chief of staff, on Saturday.

Brown has already banned large gatherings, closed most bars and restaurants, and temporarily closed schools in an effort to choke off the spread of the coronavirus. There is no vaccine for COVID-19, the disease associated with the virus.

Brown is frustrated that her social-distancing efforts to date seem to have been laughed off by a significant segment of Oregonians. They flocked to the beach and the Columbia River Gorge over the weekend, causing traffic jams. Few seemed to be practicing the minimum social distancing of six-feet.

That frustration boiled into public view Friday at a memorable press conference featuring Brown, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Deborah Kafoury, chair of Multnomah County. Rather than the typical united front you’d expect from three Democrats and longtime acquaintances in a time of crisis, Brown repeatedly rejected the idea of a strict stay-at-home order while Wheeler said he intended to issue such an order on Monday. Kafoury, who is married to Blosser, said that she hoped for a statewide order Monday enforcing additional social distancing for businesses and she wanted one consistent voice across the state.

Brown practically begged Oregonians to isolate themselves in their homes to protect them from the virus. But at the same time, she made it clear she wouldn’t sign a stay-at-home order.

Reporters were left scratching their heads. And they weren’t alone.

Shame Bemis, mayor of Gresham, said he quickly heard from confused constituents uncertain what they could do and couldn’t do under the various orders. “The phone started ringing,” he said.

Bemis also called an emergency meeting of the Northwest Consortium of Mayors, which he chairs, to deal with the confusion. The mayors voted overwhelmingly to call on the governor to issue a stay-at-home order. If she doesn’t, the mayors intend to work with Wheeler to develop their own stay-at-home orders, Bemis said.

“There is no room for equivocation,” Bemis said Saturday afternoon. “The medical professionals are incredibly worried. People need to get serious about this. Portland can’t do it alone.”

The only dissenting vote among the mayors was Tamara Stempel of Gladstone, who said she didn’t like the proposed mayor’s order because it exempted too many kinds of businesses.

Then the nurses asked for an audience with the governor. They too intend to push the governor for the stay-at-home order. “When you don’t have good social distancing -- which in our opinion includes a stay-at-home order -- it gets much harder to keep nurses and front-line workers safe,” said Rachel Gumpert, of the Oregon Nurses Association.

For his part, Blosser said, the stay-home orders issued by other states have been riddled with exceptions and have proven difficult to impossible to enforce. He said the order the governor issues on Monday will do much to strengthen the social-distancing language already in place.

In addition to the stay-at-home order, the mayors group wants:

--Oregonians directed to reasonably comply with social distancing requirements at all times

--Non-essential businesses to cease all activities except minimum basic operations; businesses can continue to operate if all employees are working from home.

--Essential businesses are encouraged to remain open, while complying with social distancing requirements.

--Public and private gatherings prohibited, with exceptions.

--Non-essential travel prohibited.

The mayors group includes: Denny Doyle, Beaverton; Brian Hodson, Canby; Jeffrey Dalin, Cornelius; Gery Schirado, Durham; Brian Cooper, Fairview; Peter Truax, Forest Grove; Stempel; Bemis; Tom Ellis, Happy Valley; Steve Callaway, Hillsboro; Ken Gibson, King City; Kent Studebaker, Lake Oswego; Mark Hardie, Maywood Park; Mark Gamba, Milwaukie; Teri Lenahan, North Plains; Dan Holladay, Oregon City; Wheeler; Walt Williams, Rivergrove; Keith Mays, Sherwood; Jason Snider, Tigard; Casey Ryan, Troutdale; Frank Bubenik, Tualatin; Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Vancouver (ex officio); Russ Axelrod, West Linn; Tim Knapp, Wilsonville; and Scott Harden, Wood Village.

This is a breaking news story and will updated.