Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Friday unveiled new instructions requiring employees to wear face masks or face shields in private as well as public office spaces.
New state leadership released last week also required increased use of masks at childcare facilities. The new guidance on face covering comes at the same time as the Occupational Safety and Health Department (Oregon OSHA) is working on adopting a new temporary rule to ensure safety on the workplace amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Brown has repeatedly expanded the face of the state over mandate since July. She initially announced that Oregonians would be required to wear face masks while in public spaces before mandating that individuals wearing face masks outside if social distance could not be maintained and announced that the guidance would apply to 5-year-olds and parents and people who exercise in a gym.
The new face covering guidance requires individuals to wear face covering in any area within an office where six feet of distance can not be consistently maintained, including in hallways, bathrooms, elevators, lobbies, break rooms and other common areas.
However, many scientists now believe that the virus spreads in aerosolized form, can take hours in the air and can travel distances significantly further than six feet. An investigation released this month found that the virus traveled in infected form 16 feet into a hospital room.
Some employers in Oregon, including those with public office settings, until recently did not need face covering. And in some cases, changes came only after an outbreak of coronavirus.
The Oregon Department of Employment began requiring employees to wear masks at their call centers and claims processing facilities in July after coronavirus outbreaks infected 13 employees and forced the department to close its Gresham facility.
Oregon OSHA on Monday also proposed a new temporary rule requiring all employers within the state to take specific safety precautions. The rule includes requirements regarding social distance, face coverage, barriers between workers, cleaning practices and sharing of information. It also includes specific mandates for high-risk work environments, including a requirement that employers conduct COVID-19 assessment risk assessments.
The rule remains in draft form and Oregon OSHA accepts public feedback on the new rule until August 31st. If adopted, the rule would take effect by mid-September.
While the requirements in the new Oregon OSHA Temporary Rule reflect many of the guidelines already issued by Brown and the Oregon Health Authority, Aaron Corvin, an Oregon OSHA spokesman, said the new rule would provide more clarity and provide predictability for employers and workers and ensure workers are protected from retaliation by explicitly and clearly outlining the rules under the Oregon Safe Employment Act.
Oregon OSHA has been overseeing work on complaints about coronavirus since March, but the new rule could make Oregon OS enforcement activity judge, Corvin said.
The Early Learning department also last week released updated guidelines for child care and facilities for early education operating in the midst of the pandemic. The new rules take effect September 1.
The new guidelines require that all providers of children, staff members and children in nursery school or parent have face covering. The guidance states that children 2 years of age or younger should not wear masks and makes mask exceptions for children with medical conditions as a limitation.
The guidelines also allow for increased group size at childcare facilities based on the reopening phase for which a province has been approved. The guidelines previously required childcare facilities to divide children into stable groups of no more than 10.
– Jamie Goldberg | [email protected] | @jamiebgoldberg
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