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State agency employees must wear masks indoors, Gov. Brown says

Gov. Kate Brown speaks with Woodburn School District acting superintendent Juan Larios in the library on the first day back to in-person learning at Lincoln Elementary School in Woodburn, Ore. on Thursday, April 1, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

State agency employees must again wear masks while working indoors, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated against Covid, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Friday.

The policy, effective immediately, also applies to visitors to state agency offices. State employees must also wear masks when traveling in state-owned vehicles unless they are driving alone, the policy said.

“This mask requirement will protect Oregonians, many of whom have been on the frontlines of the pandemic and who continue to provide essential services to Oregonians. We also must protect everyone—both agency employees and community members who visit state agencies for information, services, and resources. This new guidance accomplishes both,” Brown said in a prepared statement.

Brown cited the rise of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The announcement comes after Brown on Thursday said K-12 schools across Oregon must require students, employees and visitors to wear masks indoors when school begins in the fall, regardless of whether they’ve been vaccinated against Covid.

-Rachel Alexander