As mask mandates loosen up, one state is looking into making mask-wearing permanent and more strict social distancing rules.
Oregon is considered to have some of the strictest COVID-19 regulations in America, and they are reportedly about to ramp things up even more.
The proposal is being mulled over by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Department administrator Michael Wood, and is intended to work around a technicality in Oregon state law that would have the regulations expire on May 4 unless made “permanent,” the Associated Press reported.
Many are unhappy with this proposed change, with over 60,000 people signing a petition against it.
These complaints come from all sectors, with many understandably angry about the lack of clarification as to when the restrictions would actually end.
“When will masks be unnecessary? What scientific studies do these mandates rely on, particularly now that the vaccine is days away from being available to everyone?” said state Sen. Kim Thatcher, a Republican from Keizer.
“Businesses have had to play ‘mask cop’ for the better part of a year now. They deserve some certainty on when they will no longer be threatened with fines,” Thatcher added.
Thirteen states in the U.S. have had mask mandates lifted recently, and the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has continued to drop in those states.
By contrast, Oregon is considered by many to have one of the strictest set of COVID-19 restrictions in the US, according to AP, yet they are planning to make mask-wearing and social distancing permanent.
Justin Spaulding, a doctor at the Cataract & Laser Institute of Southern Oregon, is among those who raised concerns about the proposal in public comments.
“I do not understand these new guidelines for business. If we put these into effect we will only continue to blunt the recent drop in business,” he wrote. “We have a large subset of patients that are unwilling (or) hostile with the current guidelines, and making them permanent will only make it worse.”
Besides mask and distancing requirements, Oregon’s proposal includes more arcane workplace rules regarding air flow, ventilation, employee notification in case of an outbreak, and sanitation protocols.
It dovetails with separate actions issued by Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, using a state of emergency declaration, requiring masks in public statewide — and even outside when 6 feet (1.83 meters) of distance can’t be maintained — and providing strict, county-by-county thresholds for business closures or reductions in capacity when case numbers rise above certain levels.
More than a third of Oregon’s counties are currently limited to indoor social gatherings of six people, and the maximum occupancy for indoor dining, indoor entertainment and gyms is 25% capacity or 50 people, whichever is less. And many schools are just now reopening after a year of online learning.
This is an excerpt from Conservative Brief.
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