With coronavirus spreading in Oregon, Portland officials announced Wednesday that they will temporarily relocate some adults in homeless shelters who are particularly vulnerable to the virus to motels.

The announcement was prompted by an outburst during a City Council meeting by spectators demanding to know the city’s response to coronavirus.

Mayor Ted Wheeler told the audience that the state is leading the effort to respond to the virus, and county and city officials are coordinating with them so there is a consistent response. He said city employees have been encouraged to stay home if they feel ill, city bureaus have been told to limit large gatherings to lower the chances of transmitting COVID-19, that winter emergency shelters would remain open regardless of the weather and staff have been advised to “keep people at appropriate distance.”

He said people staying in shelter who are 60 or older with pre-existing health conditions will be moved temporarily into motels and other locations for their safety and the safety of other people. He didn’t say if that process had begun.

“This situation will change on a daily, if not hourly, basis going forward,” Wheeler said.

CORONAVIRUS IN OREGON: THE LATEST NEWS

Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said portable toilets and hand washing stations will be placed in 14 locations across the city and that the Portland Bureau of Transportation issued the permits Wednesday morning. It’s unclear where those locations will be.

At least two people were expelled from the meeting for yelling for an explanation during someone else’s public testimony. The outburst came while resident Charles BridgeCrane Johnson said that he wanted to see more money devoted to virus prevention efforts for Portlanders who live in poverty.

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty told Johnson the city planned to increase its response to the contagious disease to ensure the safety of its vulnerable populations. When she asked him to help “dispel the myth that the city council is somehow sitting on their hands and just waiting to see what’s going to happen,” two spectators yelled back that it “wasn’t a myth.”

“Where’s the plan, Ted?” yelled activist Mimi German as she approached the table in front of the councilors’ dais. Wheeler said she was in violation of city council rules would be escorted out if she didn’t stop.

The council chambers were cleared when she and another local activist continued to demand to hear the city’s plan to deal with coronavirus.

Eudaly said she recently spoke with Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden about the Senate passing a $8.3 billion coronavirus emergency funding bill, which Sen. Jeff Merkley helped write. Both senators also helped secure. funding.

Eudaly said she also supports a temporary suspension of rental evictions during the health crisis and was looking into how possible it would be to freeze rent increases during the period as well.

“While I’m deeply concerned about public health, I’m also incredibly concerned about the economic impact to our local economy and especially to residents who can’t sustain the loss of a single paycheck,” she said.

Hardesty said the council hasn’t had any conversations related to a rent freeze or eviction moratorium and said she hadn’t made any decisions on regulating anything in connection with the coronavirus.

“I don’t want people getting out of control about what we will do and won’t do,” Hardesty said. “I think we have to look at the whole picture on who’s being impacted most severely and come up with the best policies we can.”

The announcements are among the first city-specific public responses made in connection with the virus, which has infected 19 people in Oregon in nine counties thus far, including one patient from Multnomah County who is receiving treatment at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland.

Portland officials announced Wednesday that a public gathering scheduled next week to celebrate the reopening of the Portland Building is being postponed amid health concerns over the coronavirus.

“Experts tell us that large gatherings create opportunities to transmit the virus, which compromises the safety of senior citizens, people with underlying health conditions and others who are especially vulnerable,” said Portland Office of Management and Finance spokesperson Heather Hafer in a statement. A new date for the event hasn’t been announced.

The reopening of the Portland Building, which houses the city’s administrative staff adjacent to City Hall, was meant to publicly commemorate the end of two years of renovations. The building reopened in January.

Some West Coast cities have instituted bans on gatherings due to coronavirus. Crowds of more than 250 aren’t allowed in the Seattle area, and San Francisco announced Wednesday that all gatherings of more than 1,000 people are prohibited.

No such ban has been instituted in Portland as of mid-day Wednesday and the regularly scheduled city council meeting went on as planned.

The city has been coordinating daily with the Multnomah County Public Health Department on how to respond to the virus, said Dan Douthit, a Portland Bureau of Emergency Management spokesperson. He said the city has been deferring to the county on safety guidance and any decision the city makes regarding crowd gatherings would be done “in concert with Multnomah County.”

City officials said they’ve been focused on communications internally and sending out coronavirus-related information to the public via social media.

Portland Parks and Recreation said no facilities have been closed because of the virus. A chorus concert scheduled Wednesday night at the Multnomah Arts Center has been cancelled. Bureau officials said hand sanitizer stations have been put in the lobbies of public facilities and staff have increased the sanitizing of pools and community centers.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

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