Oregon Health Authority announced today that the statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces will be lifted no later than March 31. According to state epidemiologist Dean Sidelinger, models predict that hospitalization rates are peaking and that Oregon will see a sharp decline at the end of March. If rates drop earlier than March 31, the mandate can end sooner. President Hamilton at Lane Community College stated that they will closely follow local case rates before making any decisions on campus mask mandates.
Hospitalization rates have not topped the rate seen during the Delta wave. State health officials believe that because of Oregon’s mask mandates and higher vaccination rates the state avoided hundreds of hospitalizations and deaths. Cases have dropped by about 40% according to OHA, but hospitalizations have remained steady at about 1000 per day. Ninety percent of ICU beds are occupied causing a strain on Oregon health care workers and the healthcare system as a whole.
Sidelinger stated that the ability to lift the mask requirements and the lowered case rates is “a testament to your collective efforts to stem the tide of the virus throughout the course of this pandemic.” Oregon has the third lowest cumulative case rate in the nation and the seventh lowest death rate. OHA recommends that when the mask mandate is lifted that immunocompromised and high risk individuals continue to mask up in public.
