Indoor Mask Mandate In Oregon, Washington To End Saturday - KATU

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Indoor mask mandate in Oregon, Washington to end Saturday

by KATU Staff

Fri, March 11, 2022 at 7:36 AMUpdated Fri, March 11, 2022 at 5:25 PMFace masks required sign - File SBG image.pngComment on this story0CommentShare storyShare

topics:

• Byron Smith
• Justin Bieber
• Multnomah County,Oregon,United States
• Oregon,United States
• Portland
• Portland,Oregon,United States
• Washington
• Washington,United States

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Starting Saturday, March 12, Oregon and Washington will end the mask mandates for indoor public places and schools.

The mandate officially lifts at 11:59 p.m. Friday.

The state rules do not change federal requirements, which still include masking on public transportation and other settings.

"I’m still going to wear masks indoors like in grocery stores and, probably, I’m not going to dine indoors yet,"Nancy Casciato, a Portlander, said.

Individual businesses can still require masks at their establishments if they want.

"I’m going to do whatever the store wants me to do, but then I’ll take it off if I don’t have to wear it," Angela Anderson, who lives in Portland, said.

PAST COVERAGE | Oregon, Washington to end indoor mask mandates on Friday, March 11

Many school districts say they plan to make masking optional starting on Monday. However, the Parkrose School District says it plans to keep masking in place until March 29, after spring break.

The superintendent says part of the reason is that their community has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, compared to other parts of the state.

A group of about two dozen Portland Public Schools students walked out of class Friday morning in protest of their district lifting the mask mandate.

"Right now, it feels like a large population of the schools still are susceptible to COVID-19, and they’re making the mask mandate optional now, and that feels very unsafe to us,"Avani, a Portland Public Schools student, said.

Indoor mask mandate in Oregon, Washington to end Saturday (KATU - 4 PM)

Meanwhile, new modeling from OHSU says that by April 27, there will be only 100 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

Portlanders are split on what they'll do come Saturday. Many are ready for the change, while others say they'll continue to mask up in certain situations.

"A bunch of people like very close to each other, like yeah, I don’t feel comfortable with that,"Byron Smith, a Portlander, said.

"I’ll still wear it. I’ll have a mask on me at all times," Ian Farmer, another Portlander, said.

Dallas Esplin, who lives in Portland for about half the year, is more than ready for the change. He says he's totally comfortable going mask-less inside bars, grocery stores and during concerts.

"The masks tend to seem to make people less social," Esplin said. "And I like to meet people, so that’s the perspective I come from."

Teegan Schultz, another Portlander, also says she's excited to take off her mask but will likely still wear it when she travels. She's heading to the Justin Bieber concert Friday night with her out-of-town friend Josie Wilde. They'll both be required to mask up for the event but Blazers fans on Saturday, in the exact same arena, will be able to come sans masks.

On Thursday, Multnomah County leaders marked two years since the first coronavirus case in the county.

The Oregon Health Authority held a news conference Friday afternoon. You can watch it below:

Oregon health, education leaders share COVID-19 update. (KATU)

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