People in Oregon, regardless of vaccination status, will once again be required to wear masks in all indoor settings. But according to a new announcement from the state’s governor, residents are now required to wear masks in outdoor settings.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced the new guidelines recently, as a part of a growing list of statewide requirements implemented in Oregon in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
“The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of crisis we have not yet seen in the pandemic,” the Democratic governor said in a statement. “Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high. 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.”
Today, even as over 50 randomized control trials all conclude masks are completely ineffective at preventing the spread of respiratory illnesses, most school districts have these policies in place, and states are reimposing them for their residents.
Oregon’s neighboring state, Washington also reimposed their mask mandates for all residents indoors, but Oregon’s is by far one of the strictest of its kind.
A New York Times report in May concluded that the outdoor transmission rate of the COVID-19 is less than 1%.
A recent report from New York Magazine highlighted a large-scale study conducted by the CDC in May of 2021 which covered over 90,000 students. The study concluded that masking policies in schools have no benefit in preventing the transmission of COVID-19.
The findings also cast doubt on the impact of many of the most common mitigation measures in American schools, like distancing, hybrid models, classroom barriers, and HEPA filters.
