COVID theater is not going away any time soon, at least if Oregon is any indication.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that the state will be requiring masks in public outdoor spaces starting on Friday, regardless of vaccination status. The situation in Oregon is so dire that this has become necessary, but not until Friday, and not for people who are homeless, who are exempt from the order.
Oregon is seeing nearly double the number of new cases from its former peak but half the number of deaths in its seven-day average. There are more hospitalizations than at any point in the pandemic, but outdoor masking won’t change that: Vaccinations will. State health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said that the “overwhelming majority” of those hospitalized in Oregon are unvaccinated.
Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has so often erred on the side of extreme caution during the pandemic, says that “In general, you do not need to wear a mask in outdoor settings.” Oregon is a state where 68% of adults have been fully vaccinated, the No. 12 highest percentage of any state.
This is pure theater. It will accomplish next to nothing, but it allows Brown to signal just how seriously she is treating the virus without imposing more strict lockdowns. And this is something that residents of states such as Oregon should prepare for in the coming months (or years). COVID-19 isn’t going away, and neither is the safetyism of Democratic governors so long as the residents of their states accept it.
