February 7, 2022 2:30 p.m.

State health officials have announced that Oregon will remove general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31st.

A release from the Oregon Health Authority said by late March, health scientists expect that 400 or fewer Oregonians will be hospitalized for COVID-19. That is the level of hospitalizations the state experienced before the Omicron variant began to spread. Mask requirements for schools will be lifted on March 31st.

The release said health officials say Oregon needs to keep mask requirements in place for now as COVID-19 hospitalizations crest and the state’s health care system strains to treat high numbers of severely injured patients.

On Monday, OHA filed a new rule with the Oregon Secretary of State to require people to wear masks while indoors in public places. The new rule replaces a temporary rule that expires Tuesday. OHA said the filing was the only way health officials could extend the temporary mask rule past its expiration date and until mask rules would no longer be needed to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to save lives and prevent the Omicron crisis from further overwhelming the health care system.

OHA said Oregon has the 3rd lowest cumulative COVID-19 case rate in the nation and the 7th lowest COVID-19 death rate since the start of the pandemic. Dr, Dean Sidelinger, health officer and state epidemiologist said, “The evidence from Oregon and around the country is clear: masks save lives by slowing the spread of COVID-19. We should see COVID-19 hospitalizations drop by the end of March because so many Oregonians are wearing masks and taking other steps to protect themselves and each other, such as getting a booster shot or vaccinating their children. At that point, it will be safer to lift mask requirements”.

Additional comments from Sidelinger are linked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKe0wa9QPdQ