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After a sunny weekend where people flooded Oregon's beaches and other scenic areas, Gov. Kate Brown is ordering Oregonians to stay home in an effort to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

“I started by asking Oregonians to stay home and practice social distancing," Brown said Monday morning in a statement. "Then I urged the public to follow these recommendations. Instead, thousands crowded the beaches of our coastal communities, our trails, our parks, and our city streets, potentially spreading COVID-19 and endangering the lives of others across the state."

"Now, I’m ordering it," Brown said. "To save lives and protect our community."

As of Monday morning, the lives of at least five Oregonians had been claimed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Health experts have urged Americans to "socially distance," or avoid social situations and crowded places except where unavoidable, such as buying groceries.

Brown's order bans all gatherings unless a distance of six feet between each person can be maintained. That doesn't include gatherings of people who live in the same home. Brown told reporters on Monday that she did not know how long the order would last.

Brown previously ordered gatherings of more than 25 people to be canceled until April 14, and closed public schools until April 28.

Brown's order closes and bans shopping at retail businesses plus salons, barber shops, arcades, gyms, fitness and yoga studios, skating rinks and theaters. Simply put, the order applies to places where it is not possible to maintain a safe distance between people. The closures are effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, March 24.

Businesses that aren't closed by Brown's order — including groceries, pharmacies, banks, gas stations and restaurants and bars offering takeout and delivery — must comply with social distancing policies. Workplaces must allow employees to telework or work from home when possible starting Wednesday, March 25.

For businesses not explicitly listed in Brown's order as being required to close, they can stay open if they do three things: allow employees to telework to the maximum extent possible, appoint an employee onsite to be in charge of social distancing practices and enforce social distancing, said Nik Blosser, Brown's chief of staff.

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"The whole point of this is social distancing," Blosser said. "So we're shutting down businesses that can't, but we're giving businesses some ability to stay open if they can."

"If businesses are not complying with this order, we will shut them down," Brown said.

According to guidance issued by the Oregon Health Authority last week, employers should, as much as possible, increase physical space between workers who cannot work from home, stagger work schedules, regularly clean and disinfect surfaces, decrease social contact between workers and ensure that hygiene supplies like hand soap are readily available.

Oregonians can go outside in situations where distances between people are maintained, but Brown's order closes playgrounds, courts for basketball and other sports, skate parks and pools.

But the state agency overseeing parks and recreation will have the authority to close any facility, including parks and trails, where social distancing can't be maintained. A safe distance is considered at least six feet between people.

"I think if you live in rural Oregon and you want to drive a mile or two and hike somewhere by yourself, that's going to be fine," said Blosser. "But crowded parks? No."

Brown also now says that child care facilities must care for consistent groups of 10 or fewer children, and prioritize care for children of first responders and health care workers along with other emergency workers.

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People who do not comply with the order "will be considered an immediate danger to public health," and risk being charged with a misdemeanor, the governor's office said.

Last week and over the weekend, Brown faced calls from health professionals and mayors to implement a statewide order similar to what states like California, New York and Illinois have put into place to slow the spread of the virus.

Asked why she waited until Monday to issue such a policy, Brown said she wanted to issue an order to "protect all of Oregon" and "do it collaboratively, methodically and thoughtfully."

"We worked, in crafting the order, as I mentioned, with the hospital association, public health officials and obviously local electeds (officials) from all over the state," Brown said. "I know that in other states that the orders that were crafted caused great confusion. And frankly, we wanted to avoid that here as much as possible."

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Claire Withycombe is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at cwithycombe@statesmanjournal.com, 503-910-3821 or follow on Twitter @kcwithycombe.