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At 11:59 pm on March 11, Oregon’s indoor mask mandate ended—perhaps for good. Oregon and Washington were among the final U.S. states to drop the requirement for face coverings to reduce spread of COVID-19. (If you miss the reassurance, you’ll have to travel to Hawaii, the only state still mandating indoor masking—at least until March 26.) Oregon Health Authority director Patrick Allen expressed confidence that Oregon was equipped to handle new virus variants but didn’t rule out future mask requirements. Here’s what out readers had to say:
Kurt Chapman, via wweek.com: “It was totally surreal this morning going into a restaurant for breakfast without the hypocritical mask walk to the table only to take them off for the rest of the 50 minutes we were there. Oh, and if OHA director Patrick Allen thinks for a second that the state population will abide another bullshit set of mandates, he has a rude awakening in store.”
Jacob Adam, via Facebook: “I guess we’ll just have to see the consequences of just pretending that COVID is over before it actually is. We don’t have second-generation vaccines yet, and we don’t have an above 95% vaccination rate.
“But it’s nostalgic to have a government that’s pretending that it’s not a problem; reminds me of the Trump administration.”
Leon Trotsky, via wweek.com: “But how will I know who my fellow Democrats are?”
jmpdx83: “It’s not enough to follow the rules, apparently you have to ‘like it.’ Hated every damn minute of it, stoked beyond words to stop, and will never ever do it again voluntarily. Next up, hopefully we drop the public transportation rules after they expire on April 18.”
Whip Inflation Now? I found it glaring that the article on soaring gas prices did not even mention electric vehicles [”Gassed Up,” WW, March 9]. They are the most obvious hedge against volatile gas. And with a $7,500 federal tax credit and $2,500 state tax credit, they also are a no-brainer investment in Oregon. So are used electric vehicles that can be had for less than $10,000. The article mentions bikes (kudos) but missed the boat on electric vehicles. I sure am thankful I don’t have to pay for or worry about the price volatility of gas anymore. Dave Vant Hof After reading the article about the best beat-inflation deals “in town” (NOT), I am fed up (pun intended) with WW food writing [”10 Items for Less,” WW, March 9]. If you are advising on how to get deals on steak, beer and latte, you clearly are not speaking to people who are just getting by (what a shame), but to the privileged, and then you advise them to drive all the way to Hillsboro for their latte and the ‘Couv for most other things. Wait, how much did you say gas prices rose? But it’s so much worse than bad logic. ...There is a connection between food and health, climate change and food, and the source of the food and how it’s produced matters. For many people, buying more expensive eggs is not an option. But for privileged, entitled people, seeking out a “deal” may just be immoral given the actual cost and context. Recent historic climate events all over the globe (and here at home) fly in the face of any further denial. Suzanne Zuniga
LETTERS to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to: PO Box 10770, Portland, OR 97296 Email: mzusman@wweek.com