Oregon to lift mask mandate March 19

“We can now protect ourselves, our friends, and our families without invoking the extraordinary emergency authorities that were necessary at the beginning of the pandemic,” Brown said.

Hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 are on pace to drop under 400 per day, the bench mark Brown set to lift the mandate ordered as the omicron variant drove up infections across the state at the beginning of the year.

Brown also announced Thursday that she will lift the state of emergency that she put in place soon after the first COVID-19 cases were reported in Oregon at the end of February 2020.

Brown tweeted “the pandemic is not over” and followed-up with a full statement released from her office.

“COVID-19 is still present in Oregon, and we must remain vigilant,” Brown said in the statement. “We must continue to get vaccinated and boosted, wear masks when necessary, and stay home when sick. That is the only way we can achieve our shared goals of saving lives and keeping our schools, businesses, and communities open.”

In a videotaped message released Thursday, Department of Education Director Colt Gill said schools would be included in the move based on feedback from school districts. Originally, state officials said the K-12 indoor mask rule would lift on March 31.

Monday will mark the two-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in Oregon. State health officials have noted six waves of infection in Oregon over the 24 months.

Oregon has reported 690,481 cases and 6,519 deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported Thursday morning that there have been over 78.7 million cases and 942,985 deaths in the United States from COVID-19.

Worldwide, the center reported over 430.7 million cases and 5,923,711 deaths.

Brown earlier this month said the mask mandate would be lifted by March 31, but could come earlier if the hospitalizations dropped below 400 per day.

Daily COVID-19 hospitalizations were at 579 on Wednesday, having dropped 48% since late January.

The omicron variant was identified in southern Africa in the autumn and reached the United States at the end of November.

The rapid spread of omicron made for a pronounced east-to-west wave, reaching Oregon after East Coast states were already seeing declines in cases.

New infections peaked at over 800,000 per day on Jan. 14 then began a steep drop. Daily new cases have dipped below 100,000 nationwide.

Throughout the pandemic, waves have caused infections to rise first, followed by hospitalizations, then deaths. They drop in the same order.

After several weeks of higher death tolls, the fatality rate is starting to ebb. The U.S. is currently reporting about 2,300 deaths per day, down 10% from early February.

New infections are down in all 50 states, with 46 states reporting a drop of over 50% compared to two weeks ago.

Omicron cases are still on the rise in Germany, Russia and Brazil.

This article will be updated.