Oregon’s most populous county issues indoor mask requirement
Gov. Brown calls on local leaders statewide to institute mask requirements
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As COVID-19 cases in Oregon surge and hospitals fill up, officials in the state’s most populous county announced on Monday they are reimplementing an indoor mask mandate.
People 5 and older — vaccinated and unvaccinated — in Multnomah County will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces including stores, restaurants and gyms. The mandate announced Monday goes into effect on Friday.
In addition, officials say that “for the first time” the mandate will be “accompanied by an enforcement mechanism” that includes up to $1,000 fines.
The county’s decision to reimplement mask mandates comes as Oregon physicians and nurses say they are overwhelmed and that hospital space is severely limited as more and more people need care due to COVID-19.
“The more contagious Delta variant has changed the game. Our hospitals are full,” said Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Vines. “And we now know that while the vaccine protects us really well from serious illness, it may not always stop us from spreading the virus. An across-the-board mandate buys us time to protect more people with vaccine.”
The county’s decision to reimplement mask mandates comes as Oregon physicians and nurses say they are overwhelmed and that hospital space is severely limited as more and more people need care due to COVID-19.
As of Friday, 496 people are hospitalized in Oregon due to COVID-19. Based on data from the state health authority, the state’s record of people hospitalized was 622 during November’s surge when vaccine doses were not yet available.
Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Kate Brown announced last week that the state will require students and staff in K-12 schools to wear masks indoors this fall and that state employees, visitors or customers must wear masks in any indoor state agency regardless of their vaccination status.
In addition the state health authority made a statewide recommendation that people, vaccinated or not, wear masks while in indoor public spaces, but stopped short of reinstating an indoor mask mandate.
The governor said it is up to county officials to implement or issue mask mandates.
Some counties, including Benton, have issued mask mandates for county agency buildings. However, officials say that Multnomah is the first county in the state to require masks in all indoor public spaces.
Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/health-oregon-coronavirus-pandemic-527724ac8489d910951afc679e9bccb9
Governor Kate Brown Issues Statement on Multnomah County Mask Requirement
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown today issued the following statement on Multnomah County’s new mask requirement:
“From the beginning of this pandemic, city and county leaders have asked me for local control and the ability to make local public health decisions when it comes to COVID-19. I’d like to thank Chair Kafoury and Multnomah County leaders for taking bold action to slow the spread of the Delta variant in our communities. Wearing a mask is a simple way to protect your friends and family. Indoor mask requirements will help us stop the spread of COVID-19 while keeping Oregon open for business.
“Last week, I spoke with county leaders statewide, and several elected officials from the areas of our state seeing the largest spikes in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations asked me not to take statewide action, and again asked for local control.
“I am calling on local leaders to take action now to institute mask requirements. At this point in the pandemic, local leaders are in a unique position to help deliver the message to members of their communities about effective safety measures like vaccination and masks. But the fact remains, we have a finite number of staffed hospital beds in Oregon. If local leaders continue not to act and their regional hospitals exceed their capacity, it will impact hospitals all across the state. We will continue to explore statewide health measures necessary to stop the Delta variant from stretching Oregon hospitals beyond their full capacity.”
