Oregon COVID Regulations and Updates

By: Mckenzie Gerdes                      

Illustrated by: Carla Cieza Espinoza                                                                                                         

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has announced that the state will be lifting the mask mandate for “schools” and the “general public” on March 31, 2022. If this happens, this will be the first time the mask mandate has been lifted since it was enacted two years ago in 2020.

The reasoning behind the plan to lift the mask mandate is that the Oregon Health Authority has found the peak of the Omicron variant to be over. Setting an official state-wide date helps schools make plans for a safe transition back to not wearing masks.

Oregon’s neighbors, California and Washington, are working on lifting their mask mandates even sooner than Oregon, possibly sometime within February. Journalist Andy Markowitz said that more than half of the U.S. states have already lifted mask mandates.

Dr. Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s health officer and state epidemiologist, said, “We need to learn to live with COVID-19. This is not going away anytime soon.” OHA still recommends mask-wearing in outdoor crowded areas, and similar crowded situations.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Don Milton, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, advised individuals to “look at the case rates in your area, your vulnerability, and your family network’s vulnerability” to decide if wearing a mask is the best personal decision. Milton, who has studied airborne infection for over 25 years, said he would “want to see the infection rate be very low.”

George Fox University (GFU) has been following CDC and OHA guidelines since the beginning of the pandemic, while also making it possible to have in-person classes throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Guidelines have included properly wearing masks while indoors, as well as outdoors if within six feet of other people. 

Other resources GFU has offered are free surgical masks, COVID tests, vaccine and booster clinics on campus, and the COVID-19 Care Form on their website for those who are sick and need help from professionals.

Illustrated by Carla Cieza Espinoza