Story at a glance
- Oregon has struggled with the surge of delta variant infections, prompting Gov. Katie Brown to implement a new mask mandate.
- While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masks only in indoor settings, Brown expanded the state rule to outdoor settings as well.
- Cases and hospitalizations in Oregon are at all-time high largely due to the delta variant.
In the midst of its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the start of the pandemic, Oregon reimplemented statewide outdoor mask requirements in a bid to control virus transmission.
The new mandate, which goes into effect on Aug. 27, requires all residents in public indoor and outdoor settings to wear a face covering regardless of vaccination status.
“The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of crisis we have not yet seen in the pandemic. Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high,” said Gov. Katie Brown (D). “Masks are a quick and simple tool we can immediately deploy to protect ourselves and our families, and quickly help stop further spread of COVID-19.”
State health data from Monday confirmed 2,804 new cases, with 1,000 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. These are the worst figures the state has recorded throughout the pandemic as the delta variant accounts for an increasing percentage of cases across the state each week.
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In late July, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rescinded its lax mask guidelines and recommended all people, even with full vaccinations, wear masks in indoor public settings. Oregon’s new policy takes it a step further by including outdoor settings in this rule.
Due to the rampant circulation of the delta variant, Brown added, hospitalizations and cases are both at record highs, upending a state that had managed relatively well until now to keep transmission rates low during the pandemic.
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Research has confirmed the delta variant is more transmissible than older COVID-19 strains. Several studies have proven the viral load — or how much of the COVID-19 virus is present during an infection––is higher among those with a delta infection.
“It is much easier for people with the Delta variant, compared to people who were sick last year, to infect others around them,” said State Health Officer Dean Sidelinger. “This is because they have one thousand times more virus in their nose – which means that those around them are much more likely to get sick because this variant behaves so differently. We are starting to see instances where cases are clustering around events, like outdoor music festivals, that happen outdoors.”
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