Sweet Home School District issued a survey Friday, Feb. 25, asking parents whether they want masking to continue following an announcement, made earlier in the week, that Oregon will lift mask requirements for indoor public places and schools on Saturday, March 19.
The Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday, Feb. 24, that COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to drop, with levels projected to fall below those recorded at the beginning of the Omicron variant’s surge late last year.
Earlier in February, the OHA announced that the general indoor-mask requirement, as well as the K-12 indoor-mask rule for schools, would be lifted by March 31. However, feedback from school districts around the state indicated that preparations for the transition could be completed earlier.
By that date, 400 or fewer Oregonians per day were expected to be hospitalized with the virus, a level the state experienced prior to Omicron. A recent Oregon Health & Science University modeling report predicted that this total would be reached around March 20.
On Monday, Feb. 28, the OHA announced hat the rule requiring masks in indoor public places and schools will be lifted after 11:59 p.m. on March 11. Masks will no longer be required after that date.
The governor’s office said other state and federal requirements, such as those for health care settings, public transit, and other specialized settings, will remain in place for a period of time. they will lift their mask mandates
Daily COVID-19 hospitalizations have declined nearly 50 percent since peaking in late January.
Reported COVID-19 infections also have dropped recently. Over the past month, new infections have declined by more than 80%. The seven-day moving average for new cases is 84% lower than at Omicron’s peak.
The accelerated date gives communities time to prepare for the transition, allowing district and school leaders to ensure that students can safely remain in their classrooms.
“Based on the feedback from local leaders and communities, OHA and ODE are partnering to develop practical updates to safety protocols for quarantine, contact tracing, and testing that meet the current conditions of the pandemic,” Oregon Department of Education director and deputy superintendent of public instruction Colt Gill said. “These guidelines will continue to support our North Star goal of providing in-person learning for every student, all day, every school day, and will focus on specific supports for students, staff and families that may be at more risk from COVID-19 than others in the school population.”
State officials suggest that people in high-risk groups continue to wear masks in indoor public settings even after the restrictions are lifted. These groups include those who are unvaccinated or immunocompromised; 65 or older; who have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of complications; or who live with someone in one of those categories.
Officials also continue to recommend universal masking in K-12 settings where children are required to attend, as those settings unite vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, as well as those at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness.
Supt. Lisa Riggs issued a message on the Remind app to parents Friday afternoon, Feb. 25, which included a five-question survey intended to gauge community opinions on continued mask mandates within Sweet Home schools.
“Over the past several days, Oregon Department of Education and OHA have been engaging with local school and public health officials,” she said. “These officials expressed a strong need to keep alignment between the dates for lifting the statewide face covering expectations in the K-12 settings with the lifting of the general indoor public spaces masking requirement.
“In Sweet Home, we want to be prepared for this transition before March 19 and take necessary actions to ensure students can safely remain in classrooms.
“The following survey will help us get a baseline sense of parent and community input on universal masking. Our ‘North Star’ continues to be: provide a safe environment for on-site, in-person learning to the maximum extent possible while following COVID-19 county and state guidelines to keep our students, staff, families, and community as safe as possible.”
The survey is available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L395Z7M.