Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday ordered Oregon schools to remain closed through April 28, extending her previously mandated closure period by four weeks.

“I do not take the decision to extend school closures lightly,” the governor said in a statement emailed out Tuesday afternoon. “This will have real impacts on Oregon’s students, parents, and educators."

But the governor said Oregonians “must act now to flatten the curve” of coronavirus transmissions in order to avoid "a higher strain on our medical system and greater loss of life to this disease.”

Brown made the announcement hours after the state reported a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases, with 19 new presumptive cases bringing the total in the state to 66 as of Tuesday afternoon. It was just the latest in a cascading series of announced closures in Oregon due to coronavirus.

Earlier Tuesday, Brown announced a ban on nearly all visitors at nursing homes and other residential care facilities, with the exception of people visiting loved ones near the end of life. That followed her announcement Monday that no gatherings of more than 25 people are allowed for four weeks and restaurants and bars are prohibited from operating except to serve takeout and delivery food.

The governor’s latest executive order also calls for the following, according to a summary from her press office:

Districts must provide learning supports and supplemental services to students and families during the closure period, including meals and child care. This includes providing take-home meals and offering child care for essential health care professionals and first responders.

School districts may call on teachers and other employees to deliver limited learning and support services while schools are closed.

Each district will pay all regular employees during the closure.

The Oregon Department of Education, Oregon Health Authority, and Department of Human Services will help provide mental health services for students.

The governor was initially reluctant to close schools even as other states began to do so and individual districts in Oregon began to make the call. Brown said she was concerned about depriving the neediest children of access to school health services, meals and time in the classroom. However, the governor changed course after hearing from superintendents that they were short-staffed due to worker absences and lack of available substitute teachers and also concerned that many school workers are older and therefore more susceptible to more serious effects of COVID-19.

With the extension, Oregon schools will now be closed six-and-a-half weeks. That’s two days longer than Washington’s current school closure period.

Jim Green, executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association, said in a statement Tuesday evening, “This is a new reality for all of us, and we appreciate that the governor and her staff are acting quickly against a moving target. What we are working on in the short term is figuring out ways to deliver learning to kids remotely and in many cases ensuring that they are being fed. We’re going to get through this, but in the meantime we’ve got dozens of questions to get sorted out and 581,000 students to take care of.”

John Larson, president of Oregon’s teachers union, also indicated his group favors her decision.

The union "supports Governor Brown’ decision to safeguard the health of students and educators by extending the closure period of Oregon’s public schools,” Larson said in a statement. “We also commend the governor for her commitment to maintaining vital nutrition and mental health services for our students and for directing districts to ensure all school employees are paid during these closures.”

— Hillary Borrud; hborrud@oregonian.com; @HBorrud

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