COVID Forever: Oregon Looks Towards Permanent Indoor Mask Mandate

But, see, it’s not permanent permanent, just temporarily permanent. Perhaps like 15 days to stop the spread?

Oregon Health Authority moves to implement ‘permanent’ indoor mask mandate

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) assembled a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) earlier this week to address a permanent indoor mask mandate in the state. Oregon is one of a few states that still retain one nearly two years into the pandemic.

The committee included several community stakeholders, including representatives from the hospitality industry, the business sector, and faith communities, according to local ABC affiliate KATU.

I bet every single one of those are from a far left organization which favors authoritarian governance, and will completely leave out those in the suburban/rural GOP areas. This won’t make them push even harder for get several counties to leave Oregon and join Idaho, eh (there’s a total of 8 looking to secede now)?

Dr. Paul Cieslak, the medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations with OHA, explained to KATU that OHA’s potential “permanent” indoor mask mandate is not necessarily permanent because it can be repealed.

“Permanent means indefinite. It doesn’t necessarily mean permanent,” Cieslak said. “We can repeal it as well, but we are only allowed to have a temporary rule for 180 days, and anything that goes beyond 180 days, we cannot extend it.”

Well, doesn’t sound like a temporary rule for 180 days. Governor Kate Brown has seemingly overstepped her lawful authority to enact masking requirements, and the far left judges in the state will surely say “yeah, law, but, we need to think of safety first.” It would also not be that hard for the Democrat dominated general assembly to pass a law which allows this. But, hey, if they do pass it, they can repeal it, right? I wonder how many will get an exemption, like in the general assembly building and the governor’s residence?

The public will be permitted to offer comment when OHA proposes the indoor mask rule formally, the date of which has yet to be announced.

That’s a very strange way to put that. “Permitted.” It just seems so “oh, sure, we’ll let you peasants say something. Doesn’t mean we will listen or give you much time.”

Gov. Kate Brown, D-Ore., reinstated an outdoor mask mandate in the state amid the surge of the delta variant in August. The OHA repealed the outdoor mask mandate in November, but kept it in place indoors.

“We continue to see a concerning pattern of COVID-19 spread throughout the state, with the heaviest concentrations found in counties with lagging vaccination rates,” OHA Director Pat Allen said at the time.

Why is Oregon seeing these infection rates? States with no mask mandates, like Alabama and Florida, are doing better. Not a ton better, but, they had a big spike in September and now see much lower rates. Despite Oregon having all these rules in place and being made up of fanatical Democrats. And higher vaccination rates.

“We may have a baseline rate of COVID cases hovering around where they are now in the Southeast forever,” Makary said in a November interview. “We are entering an endemic phase and the question we need to ask as a society is, do we want a perpetual society with people masked?”

Makary added: “And the marginal benefit of masking is diminishing as the prevalence declines. Also, in many instances we’re requiring masks of people at the absolute lowest risk and by insisting on throwing the kitchen sink at virus transmission we will have to pay the piper somehow. That may come in the form of a loss of human connection, more increased mental health problems, and in children a series of problems including issues in development and speech development and other downsides.”

Yes, yes they do. It’s not about science, it’s about control through over-reaction.