PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After spending a majority of the pandemic under statewide indoor face covering requirements, Washington and Oregon will be lifting their mask mandates Saturday — marking a significant step in restoring normalcy.
FILE – A sign that reads “please mask up” is displayed at Climate Pledge Arena near the Space Needle, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Seattle. Washington and Oregon will be lifting their respective indoor mask mandates at 11:59 p.m., Friday, March 11, 2022.
The milestone, which comes two years after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, is on trend with the rest of the country as public health orders were dropped in droves. Oregon and Washington are among the last states to lift mask requirements.
“We’re turning a page in our fight against the COVID virus,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said during a recent news conference.
Last month — as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations drastically declined, following a surge caused by the omicron variant — Oregon and Washington’s Democratic governors announced that they would be lifting rules requiring masks in indoor public places and schools on March 12.
“Two years ago today, we identified Oregon’s first case of COVID-19,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement. “On the West Coast our communities and economies are linked. Together, as we continue to recover from the Omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic.”
Other state and federal mask requirements, including in health care setting and public transit, still exist. In addition health officials continue to recommend that people at higher risk of severe complications of COVID-19 — including those who are unvaccinated — wear masks.
