This document was published October 28, 2020. For the most up to date information on the City’s work related to COVID-19, please visit our COVID-19 web pages. For health and safety information about COVID-19 including confirmed cases and testing data, please visit Lane County Public Health or Oregon Health Authority’s websites.
Stop the Spread contest
Submit an entry for a chance of winning $500! The City of Eugene is seeking submissions from people ages 14-30 living in Lane County for Stop the Spread, a community COVID-19 messaging contest geared toward young adults.
Stop the Spread encourages anyone ages 14-30 to submit visual (graphic design or illustrative) or video content (no longer than 30-seconds) in English or Spanish that emphasizes to their peers the importance of the preventing the spread of COVID-19.
All submissions must be received by Friday, November 6 at 11:59 p.m. Visit Engage Eugene for full contest rules and entry form.
City of Eugene and EWEB team up on new assistance programs
Some Eugene Water & Electric Board residential customers will soon see a $250 bill credit on their EWEB account, while nonprofit agencies and childcare providers can apply for a new utility grant program. EWEB and the City of Eugene are teaming up to distribute $250,000 in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act dollars that have been allocated to the City to help Eugene utility customers impacted by the pandemic.
To qualify for the credit, EWEB customers need to live in Eugene and be pre-approved for the Energy Assistance Stability CORONAVIRUS Relief Program (EASCR), a federal program administered by Lane County that provides financial assistance to income-qualifying households for home heating and energy bills. Once qualified for EASCR on Lane County’s Energy Assistance website, the $250 CARES credit will automatically apply to the EWEB bill. The credit will be applied retroactively for EWEB customers that already receive EASCR.
A second program focuses on licensed childcare providers and nonprofit agencies providing direct services to clients impacted by COVID-19. Those organizations can apply for a utility grant equal to the lesser of $4,000 or their average monthly EWEB bill.
Non-profits and childcare providers can apply for the utility grant on EWEB’s website.
Happy Safe Halloween
There are plenty of ways you can have fun this Halloween while avoiding the scare of being exposed to COVID-19 or unknowingly spreading the virus. Lane County Public Health is recommending that residents avoid traditional door-to-door trick or treating and “Trunk or Treat” events because these are high-risk activities for crowding among people outside your household.
Please consider low-risk alternatives with members of your household like carving pumpkins, doing a Halloween craft, or watching a spooky movie. If you dress up in costume, be careful to plan a costume that allows you to wear a face covering. Halloween masks will not protect you or others from coronavirus.
A lower-risk, family-friendly option presented by City of Eugene Cultural Services is Halloween Downtown. Bring your family or pod downtown from 12 – 4 p.m. and check out the spooky windowfront walking tour, a frightfully fun scavenger hunt, Coffin Race graveyard, costumed entertainment and a souvenir photo opportunity. If you choose to attend, you are required to follow public health precautions to keep yourself and others safe by wearing a mask, washing your hands and maintaining physical distance. Read more about Halloween Downtown.
Learn more about Holidays and COVID-19.
Keep Up the 4 Ws
- Wear a Face Covering – indoors and outside when you can’t maintain 6 feet of space, it’s a statewide requirement.
- Watch Your Distance – stay 6-feet apart from those outside your household and limit your gathering size.
- Wash Your Hands – often with soap and water for 20 seconds throughout the day.
- Wait It Out – stay home if you are sick.
COVID-19 Resources
See a list of Community Resources for physical and mental health, food, housing, businesses, employees, schools and children, as well as information in Spanish.
Also learn how you can help. Our partners have a significant amount of information available online. Please visit these resources for the most up to date information:
Previous Community Update
October 20, 2020 Community Update