More Oregonians will be wearing face masks at work under new guidelines from state health officials, who say face shields are no longer a must-have in the pandemic.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recommended on Monday that face masks should be worn “in all private and public workplaces including classrooms, offices, meeting rooms and workspaces, unless someone is alone in an office or in a private workspace.”
Face shields are no longer encouraged by state officials, especially as a substitute for face masks, save for when people are communicating with the deaf or hard of hearing.
Face shields’ effectiveness in suppressing the spread of the COVID-19 virus is largely inconclusive according to current CDC findings.
The OHA’s recommendations apply to “outdoor and indoor markets, street fairs, private career schools, and both public and private colleges and universities.”
More than seven months into the OHA’s pandemic health restrictions, there are few situations in which face coverings are not required as of this week.
At present, face masks are required to be worn by workers whose jobs do not require them to interact with the public or coworkers.
Workplaces such as warehouses, OHA officials say, have ample space for workers to distance themselves from others by six feet or more. Face masks are still recommended in restrooms or break rooms.
As with the past seven months, face masks are not required while eating or drinking in bars or restaurants, which are still largely under strict capacity and service limitations under Oregon’s phases of reopening.
The OHA provides exemptions for people removing face masks when prompted by law enforcement for personal identification. It is advising that people limit speaking as much as possible when taking off their face masks to reduce the spread of oral aerosol droplets.
People with respiratory ailments or other disabilities related to wearing a face mask are eligible to request accommodations from the businesses and transportation providers, OHA guidelines state.
Oregon is among several states that will be independently reviewing any future COVID-19 vaccine approved by the federal government. New York, California, Colorado, and Michigan have also announced their intent to do the same in recent days.
OHA officials have already drafted a preliminary plan for vaccine distribution on Friday, in response to a CDC request of state governments to announce how they will distribute a potential vaccine.
The plan currently designates a number of new offices to head the distribution and testing stages for such a scenario. It also proposes allocating funding for an online vaccine information system for the general public and a process for establishing inoculation sites.
The OHA reported 871 new COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths from the virus on Monday bringing the state’s total case count to 39,794 cases and the death toll to 627.
