Oregon mandates outdoor masks regardless of vax status as de Blasio touts ‘carrot and stick’ for humans

August 25, 2021 | | Print Article

As Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown announces a draconian outdoor mask mandate due to the Delta variant spreading, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is claiming he absolutely has the right to mandate COVID vaccinations for teachers.

Oregon will require that masks be worn in most outdoor settings beginning on Friday, Aug. 27, regardless of vaccination status, Governor Kate Brown has announced. It applies to large outdoor events where physical distancing is not possible, according to KPTV.

“The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of crisis we have not yet seen in the pandemic. Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high,” Brown declared in a prepared statement. “Masks are a quick and simple tool we can immediately deploy to protect ourselves and our families, and quickly help stop further spread of COVID-19.”

The new mandate reportedly does not apply to outdoor gatherings at private residences. State health officials “strongly recommend” masking up at gatherings when people from different households can’t socially distance themselves. The rules also ostensibly don’t apply to “fleeting encounters,” such as two people walking by each other on a trail or in a park.

(Video Credit: KGW News)

“It is much easier for people with the Delta variant, compared to people who were sick last year, to infect others around them,” remarked State Health Officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger. “This is because they have one thousand times more virus in their nose – which means that those around them are much more likely to get sick because this variant behaves so differently. We are starting to see instances where cases are clustering around events, like outdoor music festivals, that happen outdoors. Wearing masks in crowded settings – even outdoors – will help slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Children under 5-years-old are exempted from the mandate. So are individuals who are actively eating, drinking, and sleeping; the homeless; people engaged in competitive sports, and people performing outdoors.

Oregon is claiming that their hospitals are now far over capacity as they experience record COVID case counts and hospitalizations. A statewide mask mandate has already been in place since August 13.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday that all of the city’s public school employees would be required to be vaccinated by September 27.

“Human beings do well when they have carrot and stick. So, a mandate helps people to realize it’s time,” de Blasio remarked during an appearance on MSNBC.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

Conservative commentator Jesse Kelly tweeted, “Let me be real clear about something: You’re an American. Your politicians don’t EVER get to offer you a ‘stick’. They can ask. They can’t tell. And they can’t ever threaten. Take your stick and shove it up your de Blasio.”

All New York City public school teachers and other staffers are being forced to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials announced on Monday.

The city previously mandated that teachers would have to get the jab or get tested weekly for the virus. Now they have no choice but to comply. The new policy marks the first no-option vaccination mandate for city workers in the nation’s largest city.

Unions are angered by the new requirement, saying the city needed to negotiate, not dictate what workers are required to do. The city is now facing lawsuits by unions over the move.

Approximately 148,000 school employees and contractors will have to get at least a first dose by Sept. 27.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone is safe,” de Blasio bloviated at a virtual news briefing. Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter said the policy is “another layer of protection for our kids.”

De Blasio says New York City will negotiate with school system unions over specifics and officials are hoping for agreements. But the mayor said the city intends to implement the requirement on Sept. 27, with or without a deal with the unions.

 

A union that represents school aides, lunchroom workers, and other staffers along with thousands of other city employees has just announced it will file an unfair labor practices complaint with the state Public Employment Relations Board, according to the AP. And the Municipal Labor Committee, which is an umbrella group of unions that represent about 350,000 city workers, voted on Monday to pursue legal action, chairperson Harry Nespoli said.

“All we want to do is sit down and try to negotiate the best policy that will protect the city and its workers,” claimed Nespoli.

“We’re concerned about the people in New York, too. We don’t want to see people get sick,” he asserted, but “there has to be an alternative if that person doesn’t want to take that jab.”

Oregon’s governor was torched on social media for her heavy-handed outdoor mask mandate:

Latest posts by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton (see all)

Comments

Latest Articles