OHA files permanent school mask, vaccination rules
Requirements for K-12 submitted Friday; rules for health care expected this week – OHA release – PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon Health Authority (OHA) filed permanent rules Friday that keep in place requirements for masking indoors in K-12 schools, and requirements for school and school-based program staff to be vaccinated. State health officials emphasized that the rule filing will maintain masking protections during the current Omicron surge. State officials are developing measures to determine when it may be safe to lift the school mask rule. The permanent rules replace temporary rules, which are only valid for 180 days, that were set to expire Friday. Also expected to be filed Monday are permanent rules requiring health care workers to wear masks, and for health care workers in most health care settings to be fully vaccinated. State health officials continue to review public comments on a proposed permanent rule that would continue, for now, the requirement that masks be worn in indoor public places. That temporary rule expires Feb. 8. At a news conference Friday, Dean Sidelinger, M.D., M.S.Ed., state health officer and state epidemiologist, said that while the rules are permanent, OHA can loosen or rescind them as conditions with the pandemic change, particularly with hospitalizations. “We need to look at the number of COVID-19-positive folks in the hospital who are receiving care and the impact on the ability of the hospitals to provide care,” he said. “What we know right now is that those numbers are still increasing but are anticipated to peak soon – within the next week to week and a half – and then are anticipated to come down rather quickly.” Sidelinger added that the drop in hospitalizations is likely to happen quicker than during the Delta surge in fall 2021, as the length of stay and the amount of critical care needed for patients is less. “So I would anticipate, in the coming weeks to month and a half, that we will see a significant decrease in the number of people with COVID in the hospital,” he said, “and at that time it’ll be a time to start talking about ‘Can we move from a requirement for masks in indoor public spaces to a recommendation for certain populations or in certain communities where rates are higher?’” Sidelinger also said that actions people in Oregon take over the next several weeks will be critical to ensuring the state’s hospitals have enough capacity to meet the needs of all patients needing care. That means getting primary and booster vaccines, continuing to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces, keeping gatherings small and staying home if you are sick or if you test positive. “It also means extending protective measures that were enacted earlier in the pandemic requiring mask wearing in schools and health care settings, and requiring vaccinations for school employees and health care workers and wearing masks in indoor settings,” he said. Oregon administrative rules filed Friday with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office: OAR 333-019-1015 – Masking Requirements in Schools. OAR 333-019-1030 – COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Teachers and School Staff. Rules expected to be filed on Jan. 31 include: OAR 333-019-1010 – COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Staff in Healthcare Settings. OAR 333-019-1011 – Masking Requirements to Control COVID-19 in Health Care Settings. Filing of the permanent rules follows a public comment period that began Dec. 10 and ended Jan. 24. Written comments were accepted, and there were three public hearings – one on Jan. 20 that covered the indoor spaces masking rule, and two on Jan. 24 for the school masking and vaccination rules, and health care settings masking and vaccination rules.
Oregon reports 7,222 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 19 new deaths
PORTLAND, Ore. — There are 19 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 6,086 the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported at 12:01 a.m. Friday. OHA reported 7,222 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, bringing the state total to 620,652.
More Oregonians receive COVID-19 booster doses
Oregon continues to move closer to meeting Gov. Kate Brown’s goal, announced Dec. 17, of getting 1 million more people in the state a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of January. When the challenge began, 949,749 people had received a booster dose. Since then, 486,268 Oregonians have received a booster. As of Friday, Oregon needs 513,732 people to get a booster to reach the goal and make our state safer from the Omicron variant.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 1,125, which is five less than Thursday. There are 176 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is seven more than Thursday. There are 51 available adult ICU beds out of 651 total (8% availability) and 240 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,185 (6% availability). The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity. Note: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms. Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain.. If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
Vaccinations in Oregon
Friday, OHA reported that 12,052 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry Jan. 27. Of that total, 1,157 were initial doses, 1,036 were second doses and 4,941 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 4,769 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry Jan. 27. The seven-day running average is now 10,802 doses per day. Oregon has now administered 4,032,355 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 207,234 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,649,505 doses of Moderna and 264,549 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. As of Friday, 3,122,175 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 2,822,255 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series. These data are preliminary and subject to change. Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated Friday.
COVID-19 Cases
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported Friday are in the following counties: Baker (32), Benton (172), Clackamas (584), Clatsop (50), Columbia (110), Coos (115), Crook (62), Curry (39), Deschutes (401), Douglas (191), Gilliam (3), Grant (15), Harney (27), Hood River (37), Jackson (359), Jefferson (35), Josephine (128), Klamath (191), Lake (6), Lane (734), Lincoln (88), Linn (331), Malheur (92), Marion (809), Morrow (15), Multnomah (927), Polk (164), Sherman (1), Tillamook (28), Umatilla (162), Union (76), Wallowa (8), Wasco (85), Washington (938), Yamhill (207).