Mask mandates in Oregon are expected to be lifted by March 31, if not sooner. That is welcome news to everyone, especially students and their parents, who have been vocal about those requirements.
Oregonians have a month yet to adhere to the mandates that have done so much to keep COVID-19 from ravaging Oregon as it has done in other parts of the country. Surely we can all wear masks indoors for four more weeks.
Some say that government can’t be trusted to keep to a March 31 deadline for lifting mandates. But we do not know today what COVID-19 variants may be lurking, waiting to take advantage wherever it can.
No one likes having to wear masks, or social distancing, or waiting longer because businesses are short staffed. We all need to be patient, and just like the celebrations after the Allied victory in Europe in 1945, we will all be able to tear off our masks and get back to some sense of normalcy.
Once masks are no longer required, we should all be responsible how we dispose of them; throwing them on the ground, with a feeling of freedom, won’t be good for the planet.
Hold the line, we’re almost there.
-— LAZ