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Portland Issues Emergency Stay At Home Order

Robert F. Bukaty
/
Associated Press
Fishing boats are tied up at a wharf on the waterfront in Portland in March 2016.

The City of Portland has announced an Emergency Stay at Home order for all nonessential personal and business services effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. Seventy-four of the state’s 118 cases have been confirmed in Cumberland County.

In a press statement, Portland Mayor Kate Snyder and City Manager Jon Jennings say the emergency order, which is good for 5 days, is in response to the need to lessen the community spread of the COVID-19.

Snyder says residents should only leave their homes for essential services and limit trips to the grocery store. Restaurants are allowed to remain open for take-out and delivery. She says exercise outside is permitted, but should be done alone.

“If we act cautiously and aggressively now, the amount of time we spend exercising these cautions will be lessened,” she says.

City manager Jon Jennings says several homeless families have been moved out of a city shelter and into motels in order to use the building for up to 36 individuals who need to quarantine or isolate.

Among provisions in the order:

  • All individuals currently living in the City of Portland are ordered to stay at their place of residence.

  • All persons may leave their residences only to access COVID-19 Essential Services or as otherwise expressly permitted by law.

  • While all business providing COVID-19 Essential Services are strongly encouraged to remain open, they are as much as feasible to comply with social distancing protocols.

  • All businesses with a facility in the City of Portland that do not provide COVID-19 Essential Services shall close their brick and mortar premises to workers, customers and the public as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Jennings says he hopes that Portland’s stay at home order will encourage other municipalities in Cumberland and York counties to take similar action.
Extensions of the Emergency Order can be renewed by the Portland City Council.

Originally published March 24, 2020 at 3:08 p.m. ET.

Ed is a Maine native who spent his early childhood in Livermore Falls before moving to Farmington. He graduated from Mount Blue High School in 1970 before going to the University of Maine at Orono where he received his BA in speech in 1974 with a broadcast concentration. It was during that time that he first became involved with public broadcasting. He served as an intern for what was then called MPBN TV and also did volunteer work for MPBN Radio.