NEWS
Wednesday, december 1, 2021
HermIsTOnHeraLd.cOm • A7
Oregon has new
mask, school
and vaccine
verification actions
to fight COVID-19
‘We’ve been able
to turn back the
tsunami of infection,’
OHa director says
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon capital bureau
No more masks out-
doors, new COVID-19
quarantine protocols and
testing in schools and a
vaccination
verification
system were announced by
state health and education
officials Tuesday, Nov. 30.
In
a
wide-ranging
press call, Oregon Health
Authority Director Pat
Allen said there was rea-
son for optimism with
the seven-day average of
new cases at 822 on Nov.
30, down from well above
2,000 around Labor Day.
”We’ve been able to turn
back the tsunami of infec-
tion,” Allen said.
But the state would not
give a firm timeline for
lifting other restrictions
or when the state might
return to something close
to “normal.”
”The delta-dominated
COVID-19 world is really
unpredictable,” Allen said.
Allen said the state was
moving more cautiously
after it was blindsided
by the delta variant last
summer.
Gov. Kate Brown and
health officials last June
announced the COVID-19
crisis was ebbing due to
higher vaccination rates.
But the delta variant
swept into Oregon and sent
infections, hospitalizations
and deaths to new record
highs.
The delta spike taught
officials to refrain from set-
ting metrics that would indi-
cate a defeat of COVID-19
and repeat the false expec-
tations of last summer’s
pre-delta decline.
”We don’t have an exact
number at OHA that we are
keeping secret,” Allen said.
Indoor
mask-wearing
requirements will stay in
place through the end of
the year.
Outdoor masks
Allen said a steady drop
in new infections over the
past month allowed for a
lifting of Oregon’s order
mandating masks in large
public gatherings outdoors.
The rule is lifted imme-
diately. School districts
and other educational pro-
grams can still require out-
door masking if they wish,
Allen said.
School ‘test to stay’ program
Department of Edu-
cation Director Colt Gill
announced a new quar-
antine protocol the state
hopes will cut down on
time away from school
for students who might be
exposed to the virus.
The “test to stay” plan
will use fast antigen tests
already available to about
70% of schools in the
state for a new quarantine
protocol.
Currently,
unvacci-
nated students have to stay
home up to two weeks after
close contact with someone
infected with COVID-19.
Under the new plan, stu-
dents would be tested soon
after the exposure and then
again about five to seven
days later. As long as they
test negative, students
can attend school, includ-
ing extracurricular activi-
ties. They are expected to
strictly quarantine before
and after the school day.
Gill said school districts
should work with local
health authorities in setting
up the protocol.
”We really think this
will be a turn around for
our students, families and
educators,” Gill said.
Vaccination verification
Allen confirmed the
state is working to create
a system that would allow
venues requiring proof of
vaccination to more easily
check records. Some con-
servatives have denounced
the proposal.
Rep. E. Werner Reschke,
R-Klamath Falls, said
Nov. 29 he believed the
state would use any system
for wider purposes.
”The Digital Vaccine
Records (aka passport)
being developed by OHA
Oregon will NOT only be
for vaccines,” Reschke
wrote on Twitter. “The
Communists in State gov-
ernment will find other
ways to use it to make you
obey their whims.”
Allen said the program
would not involve any state
mandates, but streamline
the ability of businesses,
such as the Portland Trail-
blazers, that have vaccina-
tion requirements for ven-
ues to verify vaccination
status.
Because of concerns
over equity, the state is cre-
ating a paper version that
can be obtained by farm-
workers, homeless people
and others who may not
be able to access digital
systems.
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Rising case numbers
nationwide
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the
state epidemiologist, noted
that 30 states have reported
an increase in COVID-
19 cases in recent weeks.
The upswing may be due
to people gathering indoors
more often due to colder
weather in the northern and
Rocky Mountain states.
It’s too early to know
if Oregon will follow the
same path. Sidelinger
urged Oregonians to get
their shots and avoid the
prolonged severe cases of
infection and death that
are overwhelmingly tied
to those who are unvacci-
nated. He also urged peo-
ple to get a booster shot,
especially those who are
older than 50, live in con-
gregate settings or have
health issues that make
them more susceptible to
infection.
”The more we can get
vaccine into arms, the bet-
ter,” Sidelinger said.
Pandemic anniversary
The world prepares to
mark the two-year anniver-
sary of the discovery of the
COVID-19 virus in China
at the very end of 2019.
More than 4.2 billion
people around the globe
have received a dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine,
about 55% of the world
population.
Oregon on Nov. 29
passed 5,000 deaths from
COVID-19 since February
2020. The United States is
set to pass 775,000 known
COVID-19 deaths, mak-
ing it the biggest pan-
demic killer in the nation’s
history.
The Institute for Health
Metrics & Evaluation proj-
ects over 880,000 deaths in
the U.S. by March 1. Ore-
gon is forecast to top 6,400
deaths by that date.
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