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Aug 11, 2021 - Health

Oregon the latest state to resume indoor mask mandate as COVID surges

Rebecca Falconer
Oregon Governor Kate Brown speaks at the Axios News Shapers event on the U.S. education system on February 22, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown during a 2019 Axios News Shapers event in Washington, D.C. Photo Shannon Finney/Getty Images

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) will resume a statewide indoor mask mandate for all residents, regardless of their vaccination status, to combat a rise in COVID-19 cases, her office announced Tuesday.

The big picture: Oregon is the third state, after Hawaii and Louisiana, to require residents who are fully vaccinated against the virus to wear masks.

  • Oregon, which has recorded some of the lowest numbers of cases and deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S., has seen its daily average of 110 a month ago rise to 1,180, the New York Times notes.

What to watch: The state will also require state agency workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, or earlier if a vaccine receives federal approval.

  • Brown will formally announce the measures on Wednesday.
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