Masks go away for good in Oregon this week, but some COVID-era changes may remain

EUGENE, Ore. (KVAL) – The countdown to Oregon unmasking is on with the statewide mask mandate lifting on Friday and the emergency declaration soon to follow.

But it won't be a return to pre-pandemic life; some COVID-era changes are here to stay.

“We do have some glass partitions in some of our booths over in the bar that will stay up,” says Jessica Blaine with the Marche Restaurant Group.

As the mask mandate is lifted, businesses may still choose to require them. Marche, for one, won't be doing so.

“We’re thrilled and excited to be able to see the faces of our customers,” Blaine said.

But the restaurant will keep in place other protective measures, like sanitizing high touch surfaces, requiring vaccines for staff and increasing ventilation.

“We’ve also learned a lot about making sure that our air space is really cleaned,” Blaine said. “We’ve updated lots of our HVAC systems in the restaurants, so that’s not going away ever.”

As Oregonians take off their masks, the state will soon shed its COVID-19 emergency declaration. Washington state will also be ending its mask mandate this week.

On April 1, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will lift the declaration which, among other things, made volunteers available to local governments and provided federal reimbursement for disaster relief.

So does this mean there will be an end to some of those state-funded resources, like pop-up testing centers?

“I think that we will see some operational changes,” said Steve Adams, Lane County’s COVID-19 Incident Commander. “Specifically what that is, I don’t know.”

Adams says for now, all county testing and vaccination resources are set to continue, although it's unclear what will happen after April 1.

There is hope that the Federal COVID Emergency Declaration will still allow for reimbursement to the state as Oregon takes steps toward normal life.

“It's springtime and new beginnings and new starts, so that’s exciting to think about for sure,” said Blaine.

But we’re not leaving the pandemic behind just yet.

“Don’t fold up the tent until you really and truly know you're not going to need it,” says Adams.

Adams says Public Health will continue to scale their offerings based on demand.