Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
MASKS: Mandate
applies in all indoor
public spaces
Continued from page 1
rate of cases and mortality in
comparison with many other
regions, the state is not meet-
ing benchmarks for declining
hospitalizations and the level
of unidentified community
spread. Hospitalizations for
confirmed COVID-19 cases
have been climbing, but there
is no immediate shortage of
available hospital beds and
ventilators.
Sisters (97759 zip code)
now has confirmed COVID-
19 cases, after months of
reporting zero. The exact
number is not reported until
it exceeds 10 cases; the most
recent 97759 report from
OHA merely indicates fewer
than 10 cases.
In making her announce-
ment, Brown said, <From
the beginning of the reopen-
ing process, I have said that
reopening comes with the
risk of seeing an increase in
COVID-19 cases beyond our
health systems9 capacity to
test, trace, and isolate them.
Over the last month, we
have seen the disease spread
at an alarming rate in both
urban and rural counties&
Modeling from the Oregon
Health Authority shows that
if we don9t take further action
to reduce the spread of the
disease, our hospitals could
be overwhelmed by new
COVID-19 cases and hospi-
talizations within weeks.=
The mask mandate had an
immediate impact in Sisters,
as businesses are required
to enforce it with their
customers.
Jeff McDonald, manager
at Ray9s Food Place, reported
a rough day at the store on
July 1, when the mandate
took effect. In a Facebook
post, he wrote:
<Well, day one was inter-
esting. We encountered 400+
people without masks. We
had 250+ go back to their car
and get them. We gave out
175 masks to those without
any. We had a dozen at least
refuse a mask and leave. I
was called an idiot, a fascist
pig, a Nazi, a (expletive)
twit and a few others. Most
people were understanding
and appreciative. It amazes
me that so many were com-
pletely clueless that it is now
mandated. We had a couple
folks verbally attack others.
Please remember 4 some
have medical exemption and
do not have to wear a mask.
Kids under 13 are exempt.
You don9t always know
everything you think you
know. Let9s all spread the
word without being abusive
to each other.=
On Thursday, he told
The Nugget that things had
smoothed out considerable.
<Today I would say we
had 10 percent of the people
that we had yesterday that
had no clue,= he said. <Most
people are understanding, at
least when we tell them.=
McDonald said that his
crew is <handling it really
well, actually. None of us
want to be the enforcer, but
we are. That9s the way the
mandate reads.=
Steve Macey, owner and
operator of Hardtails Bar &
Grill issued a plea that cus-
tomers and fellow business
owners respect the position
businesses are in and comply
with the mandate.
<If the governor decides
COVID is not under con-
trol, she could push us back
into Phase 1 or she could
shut the whole state down,=
he told The Nugget. <I just
think that everyone needs
to be on the same page.
Whether you think it9s a real
virus or whether you think
masks work doesn9t mat-
ter to me. I9m trying to keep
my business open, my lottery
machines operating, and keep
my liquor license.=
He doesn9t like having
to be an enforcer, especially
when customers get angry
and leave and don9t even wait
to hear about outdoor service
alternatives.
<I think it9s pretty crappy
that Governor Brown put
it on businesses to enforce
this,= he said.
There have been enough
inquiries about law enforce-
ment9s role that Central
Oregon agencies issued a
joint statement:
<It has always been our
goal to help community
members understand the
health and safety guidelines
that have been put into place
across Oregon. Our philoso-
phy of enforcing this and
other orders will continue
to be education and to seek
voluntary compliance. As
the Governor has stated, the
expectation is that OSHA
Oregon will take the lead
in enforcing her face mask
requirements.
Oregon Occupational
Safety and Health (OSHA) is
taking the lead in enforcing
face covering requirements
for Oregon businesses.
<Law enforcement will
respond to and investigate all
calls for service from busi-
ness owners who report dis-
putes or disturbances related
to the face mask requirement,
and then take the appropriate
enforcement action if neces-
sary. Unless the call requires
a law enforcement response,
call OSHA at the toll-free
number, 800-922-2689.=
A local worker in a retail
establishment in Sisters sent
a statement to The Nugget
asking for the public9s under-
standing of the challenges
retail workers face. The
worker requested anonym-
ity due to concerns about
employment security.
<I work in a store in
Sisters. I have worked in
this store during the whole
COVID pandemic,= the
worker wrote. <During the
majority of the epidemic, we
did not have to wear masks,
then we were told to do so.
We made sure to keep essen-
tial products for essential
needs and worked hard to
keep the people of Sisters
stocked best as we could
based on what we receive.
<We have distributor prob-
lems, and things going on in
the background that the gen-
eral public would not know.
Healthcare workers get a lot
of credit for working during
all this but I don9t hear the
store workers getting as much
credit, yet we are in there
every day working and doing
our best to wait on them and
their needs.
<During this pandemic, it
hasn9t brought out the best in
people either. People are rude,
upset, and angry. I am sure
they are all tired of this just
as I am tired of this. The last
thing that workers need on
top of all the stresses we deal
with are people who are nit-
picky and want to make com-
plaints because they don9t
like the way someone wears
a mask in a store. Someone
made a complaint that a mask
needed to be tighter and their
details of what they think to
our upper management. I just
have to say this to that person
or anyone else that decides
to make a complaint in the
future: You take a job in a
store breaking down freight,
stocking shelves, cashiering,
constantly cleaning to make
37
things safe, and doing all this
eight to nine hours (barely
able to breathe being nause-
ated most of the time), and
excuse me if someone wants
to pull their mask down for a
second to get oxygen.
<We are doing the best
we can in our stores and we
don9t need complaints on top
of everything else. I look at
it this way, if you are going
to be that critical, then just
stay home. Have someone
else buy your supplies. Order
your supplies, but don9t make
it harder for workers. In spite
of what you think, we are
truly doing the best we can
during this to help you and
your loved ones. I don9t need
a pat on my back. I just want
the people of the retail and
food industry to be given the
respect they deserve while
you are shopping.=
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