Oregon governor Kate Brown announces outdoor mask mandates

Oregon announced a new mask mandate, on Tuesday, for outdoor public settings where social distancing is not possible, according to statements from governor Kate Brown. The new rule will be in place starting August 27.

The governor also announced that the mandate, which will require the people of Oregon to wear face masks, will be applicable to everyone regardless of their vaccination status against COVID-19.

While the mandate does not apply to outdoor gatherings in private residences, masks are “strongly recommended” when people from different households cannot remain socially distanced.

The masking mandate will not be applicable in outdoor gatherings inside private residences, however, the state authorities “strongly recommend” wearing masks if people from different households get together in a place where social distancing is difficult, according to reports from Axios.

The masking mandate will also be exempting “fleeting encounters”, which includes two people walking past each other quickly.

In a statement released on governor Brown’s social media handles, she said, “Masks have proven to be effective at bringing case counts down, and are a necessary measure right now, even in some outdoor settings, to help fight COVID and protect one another”.

Brown, who is a member of the Democratic party, also warned the residents of Oregon against the rapid spread of COVID-19’s Delta variant and shed light on the hardships being faced by Oregon’s healthcare institutions. “Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high“, she said.

The caption of the social media post read, “Today we have 1,000 COVID-19 patients in our hospitals. I’m continuing to take actions to protect Oregonians and save lives.”

Late last week, Brown released similar statements that mandated COVID-19 vaccines for staff members of K-12 schools in order to protect the students who will be coming to the educational institutions. The deadline for this was set at October 18 or six weeks after the Food and Drug Administration gave its approval for a COVID-19 vaccine.