Portland police have a message: Please don’t use 911 to report people who aren’t staying home, flouting Oregon’s measures to slow the spread of coronavirus.

“Do not call 911 to report someone violating the Governor’s Stay At Home order," the Portland Police Bureau tweeted Sunday. “Call non-emergency at (503) 823-3333.”

“The call will be triaged to determine if police response is appropriate,” the tweet continued. "Officers are needed to respond to emergency calls as a priority.”

According to the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management, while calls are down slightly year over year, the bureau has seen more calls related to Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-at-home order, which she issued Monday.

“We’ve had an uptick in calls related to the governor’s order,” Dan Douthit, a spokesperson for the agency, said Sunday, “but it wasn’t overwhelming us as of Thursday.”

Portland police are enforcing the order, but opting to educate people who violate it first, “from a distance, in accordance with the six-foot social distancing guidelines,” according to a statement on the bureau’s website.

Officials said that people who do not comply with the order could be cited, adding, “Criminal citation is a last resort measure and the public is highly encouraged to be aware of the order and voluntarily comply.”

People who are cited can face a fine of $1,250 or 30 days in jail or both.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker

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