Gov. Kate Brown issued a “stay at home” order Monday that gave no guidance for people who have no home to stay in.

Neighboring states with similar orders and large homeless populations carved out specific exemptions for people who are living in tents or in vehicles, but Brown has said almost nothing about homeless people since the pandemic started, continuing that streak with one of her most anticipated mandates.

Her aim is to sharply reduce the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected at least 161 Oregonians and killed five. She said Monday that she wants Oregonians to stop getting together in groups and only leave their homes if absolutely necessary and if they can effectively maintain six feet of distance from other people. As in the other states, Oregon’s order includes many exceptions for businesses and other services that Brown deems essential.

“We’re trying to limit social circles right and we’re trying to incorporate socially distancing in our lives,” Brown said Monday in a call with media. “And it’s really really challenging.”

All those directions were geared toward people with homes and workplaces. It left many unanswered questions for people who are living outside -- and for local agencies who are trying to serve them.

Most concerning to people living on the street is the punishment for violating the order.

The “stay at home” order gives police authority to penalize people who are gathering in too large of groups or too close together. It is also vague about what activities outside are deemed “essential.”

Those who defy the order can be charged with endangering public health, a class C misdemeanor. People found to have violated the order could be jailed for up to 30 days or fined $1,250.

The wording is supposed to be vague enough to allow reasonable errands and for workplaces that can accommodate social distancing to stay open, according to Brown.

However, that leaves people living in camps and in doorways uneasy.

“A lot of people who live out here in these camps, six feet from another person -- you might as well ask us to go to the moon,” said Raven Drake, who lives in North Portland along Interstate 205. “I am worried it’s going to lead to a lot more problems than it was trying to fix.”

She also heads up Street Root’s coronavirus action team, which means that she is distributing hand sanitizer and other supplies to people who would normally sell the street newspaper early in the morning. They mark off six-foot spaces on the sidewalk for distribution, but sometimes people bunch up as they move forward.

Lots of people who sleep in the downtown core are often shuffled around by police and business owners anyway, and some say they are concerned that this new authority will be another way for police to arrest or fine them when they are grouping together to keep warm.

Brown’s spokesman said she doesn’t intend for those types of arrests. However, it doesn’t prohibit them, as orders have in other states.

“The purpose of the governor’s ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ executive order is to enact strict social distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep Oregonians safe, whether they are living sheltered or unsheltered,” said Brown’s spokesman Charles Boyle. “This order is not meant to criminalize homelessness and we strongly discourage anyone, including law enforcement, from interpreting it that way.”

The order also doesn’t explicitly allow the work of social service providers, who necessarily bring together large groups of people.

Organizations that provide free meals now have lines down the block to hand out to-go meals, rather than bringing large numbers of people into a dining room. Multnomah County is also working with groups like Street Roots’ outreach team to distribute supplies and information to camps.

“There’s nowhere to stay at home because your home is a piece of canvas on the side of the road somewhere,” said Tina Drake, who was homeless until three days ago and spent the last two months trying to avoid other people because she has HIV, making her highly at-risk of dying from COVID-19. “You have to be able to get to the feeds, you have to be able to get to the restrooms.”

Brown’s order doesn’t disallow this activity, but it also doesn’t protect it, as it does the work of grocery store employees or health care workers.

Officials from the Joint Office of Homeless Services said that they will continue providing those needed services, even without clear guidance from the state.

“Protecting people who are highly vulnerable to this disease remains our highest priority, and nothing in the governor’s order alters our approach,” said spokesman Denis Theriault. “The providers offering shelter and services for neighbors who can't lock their front door are doing essential work that we all must share, and it must continue.”

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Wheeler spent the end of last week and through the weekend prodding the governor into taking this action. His office drafted a citywide order while waiting to see if the governor would act – and his included a clear exemption for homeless people.

As mayor, Wheeler also serves as the police commissioner, which leaves his office able to determine how the Portland Police Bureau will treat Brown’s mandate in regards to homeless people.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com | 503-294-5923 | @MollyHarbarger

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