City of Bend issues order to dissuade travel to and from the region

The City of Bend, in Oregon, has issued an order that it hopes will dissuade folks from traveling to and away from town, as the state continues to see a climb in COVID-19 cases.

On Monday, Bend published an order detailing that citizens both of Bend origin and from outside of the city are discouraged from leaving or entering the town. “The order is intended to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in the Bend community,” reads the update. The order will stand from the time of publishing until September 7, 2020.

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The notice reads that travel to Bend for “recreational, discretionary, or vacation purposes is strongly discouraged.”

Local government also wishes to discourage stays in lodging and suggests that any bookings that have not already commenced be canceled.

“All stays in Bend at hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, RV parks, short term rentals, and all other temporary lodging facilities that have not commenced as of the effective date of this order are highly discouraged, unless for reasons of health, safety, or employment, or other permitted essential travel,” says the order.

“As of the date of this Order, operators of temporary lodging facilities are strongly requested to refrain from booking any new reservations for tourist or vacation accommodation.”

The City of Bend council says that they will share this new visitation order with local travel promotion companies and hopes it will help quell the current rise in coronavirus spread.