First grade student Leah Arreguin colors a worksheet during the first day of school at Liberty Elementary School on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
Oregon students should continue to wear masks in classrooms, the state’s top public health officials said in a November meeting.
A group of Oregon Health Authority senior health advisors decided unanimously to leave the state’s school mask mandate in place in a Nov. 2 meeting, according to minutes of the meeting obtained by Salem Reporter.
The health authority on Sept. 3 adopted a temporary rule requiring masks in K-12 schools following an order from Gov. Kate Brown. The rule is in effect through Jan. 28, 2022, but the authority said it would review the rule monthly.
In response to a request from Salem Reporter, OHA shared minutes from two reviews of the rule held Oct. 4 and Nov. 2.
In the November meeting, the agency’s advisors concluded “there is no single data point to determine when we no longer need masks” in schools, saying it would depend on hospitalization trends, disease spread in the community and vaccine eligibility and uptake. They cited continues high spread of Covid in nearly all Oregon counties, as well as continued high hospital bed occupancy.
The review was conducted by 14 of the agency’s senior health advisors, including Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist.
-Rachel Alexander
