February 24, 2022 11:20 a.m.
Oregon will lift mask requirements for indoor public spaces and Oregon’s schools on March 19th.
A release from the Oregon Health Authority said that is happening as hospitalizations drop and are projected to reach levels below those at the start of the Omicron surge.
Earlier this month, OHA announced that the general indoor mask requirement would be lifted by March 31st, with the option of lifting it sooner if conditions improved enough.
Originally, OHA announced that the K-12 indoor mask rule would lift on March 31. The release said feedback from school districts around the state indicated that preparations for the transition could be completed earlier.
By that date, it was expected, 400 or fewer people per day in Oregon would be hospitalized with the virus, a level the state experienced prior to the arrival of the Omicron variant. A recent modeling report by Oregon Health & Science University predicted the state would reach that total around March 20.
OHA said that daily COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined 48 percent since peaking in late January. Over the past week, hospitalizations have fallen by an average of more than 30 a day. Reported COVID-19 infections also have dropped precipitously in recent weeks. Over the past month, new infections have declined by more than 80 percent. The seven-day moving average for new cases is 84 percent lower than at the peak of the Omicron surge.
The release said the March 19 date gives local communities time to prepare for the transition and allows district and school leaders to take necessary actions to ensure students can safely remain in their classrooms.
State officials highly recommend that people in high-risk groups continue to wear masks in indoor public settings even after the restrictions are lifted. That includes people that are unvaccinated, immunocompromised, have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of complications, are 65 or older, or live with someone in one of those categories.
The release said state officials also continue to recommend universal masking in K-12 settings where children are required to attend. Those settings bring together vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, as well as individuals who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness.
A statement from health officer and state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger is linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vynfd8Fck8g