Oregon’s Governor came out with new mandates last week for wearing face masks after seeing an increase in the statewide case numbers, and this included 1 in Josephine County and 18 in Jackson County. Some of the highlights are as follows:
- wearing a face mask is mandatory in all workplaces regardless of distancing.
- wearing a face mask is mandatory in outdoor markets, all universities, and street fairs.
- it is advised to not wear face shields as a substitute for face masks. These shields do not contain air that can escape from any of its sides.
As of last Monday, the state reported 124 patients in the hospital with confirmed Covid-19 infections, far below capacity with hundreds of hospital beds still available. Oregon has seen 627 deaths total, among the lowest in the nation. Of the most recent 8 deaths in our state, the youngest was 61 years old and the oldest was 91.
If you have visited Paragon Orthopedic Center, you would have seen that we wear masks during your visits in the patient rooms. With this new mandate, you will see everyone, including those who are not in patient contact, wearing masks. We do not use face shields because they do not contain air around any of the sides. All of our disinfection procedures will remain in place and hand sanitizer is readily available to all. We are doing our best to protect you, Southern Oregon!
To read more details about Covid-19’s spread in Oregon and the new mandate, OregonLive has an article that provides more statistics, great, informative graphs, and a link to the formal mandate handed down from the Governor.
