State to drop mask requirements for health care facilities

(MARCH 10, 2023) The rules for wearing a mask in Oregon changed over the past year. Now the Oregon Health Authority is changing them again. Recently the state office said it will change these rules for places like hospitals and dentist offices. Visitors do not need to wear a mask in these places beginning April 3, 2023.

Wearing a mask helps to prevent the spread of COVID. However, fewer people are getting sick now. So the state wants to remove the law. Some places will still require people to wear masks even after April 3, but it will be their choice.

Dean Sidelinger is a doctor and works for the state. He said, “The circulation of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, has gone way down, and we’re continuing to see downward trends in our COVID-19 numbers. So I think this is the right time ... to repeal this rule.”

This news comes three years after the first person in Oregon got sick with COVID-19, which was February 28, 2020. Oregon Health Authority published new data on March 8, 2023 for the previous week (most numbers were lower than the previous weeks):

• New cases: 2,136

• New deaths from COVID: 12

• Patients in the hospital with COVID: 229 (18 in intensive care units)

• Vaccination (one dose): 86.7%

• Vaccination (booster): 25.2%

• Test positivity rate: 9.4%