ODOT, Deschutes County react to Gov. Brown’s order directing masks at state offices
(Updated: adding comments from ODOT, Deschutes County health official)
Delta variant continues to spread across Oregon; Gov. takes action to stop spread
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Masks are back -- but as a requirement, only for state agencies. Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday a new rule requiring that all employees and visitors inside state office buildings wear a mask.
For state office visitors, the rule begins Monday and it's required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. For state employees, it immediately took affect Friday.
That includes visits to the DMV in Central Oregon.
ODOT's Peter Murphy says this impacts the organization's plan to bring employees back into the office -- something that was supposed to happen by September.
"Everybody would like to be back, or those who are coming back would like to be back, but this has thrown a curve into that for all of us," Murphy told NewsChannel 21 on Friday. "The idea is to protect people, and that's fine -- but we're also part of that idea, so we'll roll with it."
Murphy says the mask requirement might not change ODOT's plans to have employees return to state offices, but they'll have to wait and see.
"Once again, we're kind of in a place where we're not quite sure what the next day holds for us and I suspect it'll be that way for a while," he said.
Brown says the decision to require masks is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recently updated guidance, and based on the latest science on the spread of the delta variant.
"The science and data are clear: the Delta variant is spreading in our communities and is more contagious," Brown said. "This mask requirement will protect Oregonians, many of whom have been on the frontlines of the pandemic and who continue to provide essential services to Oregonians.
"We also must protect everyone—both agency employees and community members who visit state agencies for information, services, and resources. This new guidance accomplishes both."
The CDC says the delta variant can spread and infect eight or nine people, compared to the original COVID-19 strain -- which typically infects two or three.
Thats because the viral load of the delta strain is a thousand times higher.
If the Delta variant is more contagious and severe, it begs the question: Are cloth and/or surgical masks efficient enough in protecting against it?
"The important thing is to mask inside," Crystal Sully, a supervisor for COVID-19 vaccine distribution with the Deschutes County Health Department, said Friday.
"Whether you feel more comfortable with a cloth mask or a simple surgical mask or an N-95, I think that's up to everybody's individual discretion," she said.
Even if you're not visiting a state building, health officials recommend everyone put on a mask indoors and get vaccinated.
"What we know to be true is that masking does decrease the transmissibility, especially when we're inside or in crowded places," Sully said. "And the other thing we know is that being fully vaccinated increases our chances of not getting COVID at all, let alone the delta variant."
