Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued further requirements for face coverings and indoor gatherings during a COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, July 22. Oregon’s face covering requirement will include children age five and older starting Friday, July 24. Brown removed previous exemptions for face covering requirements, including inside gyms, even while exercising.
“Our new face covering requirements are going to protect Oregonians,” Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state’s health officer, said during the briefing. “We learn more and more about this important tool every day. They slow the spread of COVID-19, they protect the people around you and there’s more evidence that they offer protection to you as well.”
Children between the ages of two and five are encouraged to wear masks, but are not required to. Expanding the requirement to include younger children will lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19 to the people around them, Sidelinger said.
Bars and restaurants will need to end service at 10 p.m. statewide, even in phase two counties where restaurants could previously stay open until 12 a.m. Indoor venue gatherings, including community centers and houses of worship, will be restricted to 100 people. The outdoor venue cap will stay at 250.
“Without a vaccine or a more effective treatment,” Sidelinger said, “these social mitigation strategies are the best tool we have to slow the spread of coronavirus in Oregon.”
Oregon is seeing a number of new cases due to tourism, Brown said. Her office is talking with nearby states and will be taking action soon.
“I’ve already directed my team and the Oregon Health Authority to evaluate the process for restricting tourist travel into Oregon from the states with high infection rates, for requiring mandatory quarantine for people coming here from hotspots,” Brown said.
Hospitalizations continue to rise in Oregon, Sidelinger said, but not as fast as infections, due to more younger people becoming infected with the virus. Younger people tend to be healthier before becoming infected and have milder symptoms, he said.
Almost half of new cases couldn’t be traced to a known source, as of last week. Having so many sporadic cases means the virus is circulating in Oregon more than hoped, Sidelinger said.
“We can’t ignore the looming danger,” he said. “If left unchecked, Oregon is on a trajectory to overwhelm our healthcare systems with coronaviruses in the future.”
Brown expected to release information and metrics regarding reopening Oregon’s schools in the coming days. Many students will learn remotely in the fall or have a hybrid of in-person and online instruction, she said.
“I’m working with public health officials to make sure that the school experience is safe,” Brown said. “And I am pushing our school officials to make sure our underserved and marginalized students, our kids of color and our low-income kids get the support, services and opportunities they need.”
“It all depends on you. Your choices determine our future,” Brown said. “If we don’t slow the spread of the virus, I will have no choice but to force widespread and difficult closures again.”