Earlier this month, Gov. Kate Brown mandated the wearing of face coverings in public indoor spaces for eight Oregon counties. As of July 1, that mandate extends to all of Oregon—including people right here in Central Oregon.
“I do not want to have to close down businesses again like other states are now doing,” Brown stated in a release Monday. “If you want your local shops and restaurants to stay open, then wear a face covering when out in public.”
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health is the agency in charge of enforcing the new rule, Brown’s release stated. Thus far, OSHA has been the principal arbiter of COVID-19 related enforcement. Numerous Central Oregon businesses are facing thousands in fines for failing to comply with health and safety guidelines.
In Bend and Central Oregon, wearing masks among the general public has been something of a mixed bag. Anecdotal observations have shown about half of people choosing not to wear them in places including grocery stores. And restaurants? Well, eating while wearing a mask is a complicated task. Still, ongoing studies of the more scientific kind have consistently shown that mask wearing can slow down transmission of respiratory illnesses, including the novel coronavirus.
While those charts you see circulating on social media—showing the percent effectiveness of wearing a mask versus not wearing one—have been shown to be mostly false due to there being “no scientific consensus exists on the efficacy of homemade masks in stopping the spread of COVID-19,” according to Snopes, actual studies have indicated that masks can help.
A review published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies in late April concluded that, “community mask use by well people could be beneficial, particularly for COVID-19, where transmission may be pre-symptomatic. The studies of masks as source control also suggest a benefit, and may be important during the COVID-19 pandemic in universal community face mask use as well as in health care settings.”
With the big 4th of July holiday approaching, Brown said she is concerned about gatherings.
“From the beginning of the reopening process, I have said that reopening comes with the risk of seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases beyond our health systems’ capacity to test, trace, and isolate them,” Brown stated. “Over the last month, we have seen the disease spread at an alarming rate in both urban and rural counties. The upcoming July 4th holiday weekend is a critical point for Oregon in this pandemic, and we can all make a difference.”
This article appears in Jun 24 – Jul 1, 2020.
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You know what would help the process along? If I could just dash into Rite Aid or Target or BiMart and buy a box of 20 blue surgical masks for under $10 like you used to be able to do. Stores don’t stock that item anymore, nor do they stock quart bottles of isopropyl alcohol for under $5. In fact ya can’t find either of those items for any price. Oh sure, I can buy a cloth mask for around $15 or $20 for 1 but whatever happened to those boxes of disposable masks that were once so plentiful? I am a mask wearer and for the time being I have a good supply of masks, but what’s going on makes wearing a mask a lot harder than it has to be for many. Make it easy and cheap to buy a mask and more people will wear a mask.
They could have just sent everybody a $1 mask instead of $1200 checks.
I don’t understand it, just wear a darn mask inside a store. Have you ever noticed a sign on an establishment “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service” and balked about it? No, everyone is sure to have on their shirt and their shoes. I enjoy being outdoors in open spaces on my bike, walking, etc., and do not wear a mask but every time I enter the grocery store I put one on, for myself and out of respect for others, especially the cashiers who are there working on a daily basis for all of us. Put on a bandana or neck gaiter or something if you don’t have a mask.
Respect and consideration; just being a decent citizen. In addition to a scarf or gator mentioned above, I’ve slipped a men’s t-shirt, via the sleeve hole, over my head and was surprised how easy and comfortable and not-weird it was. There really is no excuse.
(1) Masks work. At the hospital where I work in the Bay Area our policy of consistent mask wearing and scrupulous hand washing has flat out prevented the spread of the virus to a large long term care facility located just steps from our COVID-19 floor.
(2) Masks will help usher in the safe, steady, uninterrupted economic reopening we all desire.
(3) Masks will help prevent the COVID-19 surges that continue to overwhelm hospitals. Mask wearing will help prevent untimely deaths, while buying us time until treatment or a vaccine emerges.
COVID-19 is a remorseless disease; for a truly heart-breaking report check out the Detroit experience with the pandemic on the latest edition of “This American Life.”
The doctors and nurses saving lives are what happened to the blue surgical masks. Wash your mask and you can save lives and reduce waste.