Canvassers were going door-to-door in Hood River County earlier this month, seeking signatures for a recall effort against Republican Sen. Chuck Thomsen just as the coronavirus pandemic was starting to take off in the U.S.

Leaders of the canvassing effort say they took precautions to avoid furthering the spread of the virus and that they stopped altogether by March 16, the day Gov. Brown issued an order banning gatherings of 25 or more people and in-house service in restaurants and bars.

But Thomsen said he heard reports that the canvassing continued well after that, and he said it was irresponsible for the campaign to have used the practice at all after it was clear COVID-19 had reached the U.S.

“I think they would have stopped when everybody was talking about the coronavirus,” he said.  “Because how did they know if they have it?…It’s just not safe.”