Bend City Council, Deschutes County commissioners clash over indoor mask mandate
(Update: Russell comments, DeBone response)
Mayor's letter follows 2-1 county decision last week not to recommend indoor masks
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend Mayor Sally Russell sent a letter Monday to the Deschutes County Commission on behalf of the Bend City Council, calling on county officials to enact a mask mandate for indoor public spaces due to the rapid rise of the more-contagious COVID-19 delta variant. But some county leaders are still cool to the idea.
"They are the (local public) health authority, (so) it would make sense to ask them to take a leadership position on mask-wearing,” Russell told NewsChannel 21 after sending the letter.
But county Commissioner Tony DeBone said he is not in favor of a mask mandate, and argued it would be too hard to enforce.
"So a mask mandate is something I do not support,” DeBone said. “That means that you're violating a mandate if you don't wear a mask. Who would enforce a mask mandate? If there's five people in a store, and one doesn't have a mask, what do you do? You ask the manager to do something, or do you call 9-1-1? So I'm just saying, a mandate is different than a recommendation."
At last Wednesday's meeting, Commissioner Phil Chang had called on colleagues DeBone and Patti Adair to support a recommendation to county residents that masks be worn indoors, but after more than an hour of debate, neither went along with his proposal. with Adair saying it amounted to a mandate.
"The recommendation is already there, and you're asking for more, and I don't want to give more,” Debone told Chang.
In her letter, Russell asked the county commission to mandate mask-wearing for all indoor public spaces. The letter referenced the substantial increase in COVID-19 cases, the presence of the delta variant in Deschutes County and the critical status of the local hospital system as the basis for the request.
"In sum, due to the substantial increase in Covid-19 cases, the presence of this new variant in our County, and the impacted status of our local hospital system, we implore the Deschutes County Commission to mandate mask-wearing for all indoor, public spaces (or, at the very least, empower your public health department to make a strong recommendation)," the letter stated.
“As local elected leaders, we must be united in taking action to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” the mayor wrote. “In your role as directors of the public health authority of our County, we look to you take the actions necessary to prevent illness and death from this disease, and we will support you in those actions. The welfare of our businesses, restaurants, and, most importantly, our community members, depends upon our leadership.”
Mayor Russell said she and the city council may consider enacting their own mask mandate, but believe it is the county commissioners' obligation, as directors of the county's public health authority.
"None of us want to be in this place,” Russell said. “None of us want to make these decisions. We don't prefer to be wearing masks. I think at some point you have to accept that the health of the people that we love, and the people who are in our family, depends on a pretty simple move, which is to just put on your mask when you're going inside."
Asked about the letter, DeBone told NewsChannel 21: "The CDC and OHA recommendation for mask wearing is out there, and I am not opposed to that. I am not in support of a mask mandate, and I do advocate for people to get vaccinated."
Chang also sent a statement:
"Masks and vaccines are two of our most effective tools for curbing the spread of COVID in our community, and the delta variant is causing a surge in cases on a scale that we have not seen since late spring. The county is the local public health authority for our community, and if we take that role seriously, we need to do everything we can to encourage people to get vaccinated and to put masks on in indoor public spaces to cut this current surge short. I support an indoor mask mandate for the time period that our case counts and test positivity rates are high."
Meanwhile, Multnomah County leaders announced a face mask mandate Monday, saying that as of this coming Friday, their previous recommendation of indoor face masks will be a requirement inside businesses for all 5 and older.
