Mask mandate -- businesses work to comply

Jul. 9--UNION COUNTY -- Local businesses are working to comply with Gov. Kate Brown's executive order requiring the use of face coverings in public spaces. Businesses risk fines and loss of licenses for failing to comply.

Liz Meyer, owner of Community Kindness of Northeast Oregon, said she is happy to reopen her La Grande business under the new regulations.

"We are being, what we believe to be, socially responsible, protecting ourselves and our community," Meyer said. "Yes, we will be wearing masks and requiring masks to enter the store."

Meyer said if someone comes into the store without a mask on, an employee will ask if the person has a medical condition preventing them from wearing a mask. This is allowed and not considered discrimination by the Southeast Americans with Disabilities Act and Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

"Face coverings that cover your nose and mouth play a critical role in reducing the spread of this disease because droplets from our breath can carry the virus to others without us realizing it," Brown said in a recent statement. "If we all wear face coverings, practice 6 feet of physical distancing in public, wash our hands regularly, and stay home when we are sick, then we can avoid the worst-case scenarios that are now playing out in other states."

In other cases, such as Joe Beans Coffee, La Grande, the requirements have meant shutting down. Owner Colleen MacLeod said she closed the popular coffee shop Friday, July 3.

"It was entirely the mask requirement," MacLeod said. "When (Gov. Brown) extended the order to September, we gave up fighting."

Not only could Joe Beans not keep up with the mask regulation, MacLeod also said she had a personal reason to close the doors.

"I will not wear a mask," MacLeod said. "I am on chemo and will not breathe in my own carbon dioxide."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have reported wearing a mask does not cause a person to breathe in carbon dioxide.

According to the Salem Statesman Journal, Oregon Occupational Safety and Health, commonly called OSHA, is busy investigating thousands of COVID-19-related complaints at Oregon workplaces.

Since early March, Oregonians have filed roughly 5,500 workplace complaints related to the pandemic, the newspaper reported, with concerns ranging from a lack of space between people and lack of protective gear.

OSHA officials had by early June received some complaints about face coverings, including reports of employees not wearing face coverings at a furniture store and at a restaurant, according to spokesman Aaron Corvin.

He told the Statesman Journal the agency is expecting more complaints to come in now because of Brown's latest order. Generally, the agency gets about 2,000 complaints total in a year, Corvin said.

In addition to the coronavirus complaints, the agency has received about 1,000 non-coronavirus complaints this year.

"It's been very busy for us," Corvin said.

While it's "an all hands on deck situation," he said there are enough workers at the agency to field the thousands of complaints, which are essentially tips that the agency investigates.

Of the thousands of complaints that have been filed, the Statesman Journal reported, the agency has done about 42 inspections. Violations have been found in roughly half of those inspections, Corvin said, and several cases are still pending.

The agency has 75 people who enforce workplace safety and health in the field, plus technical, administrative and managerial staff who help with complaints, Corvin said. And the agency is offering virtual consultations with businesses to help them comply with health and safety rules.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has made amendments to its guidelines to help businesses comply with the regulations, including allowing for curbside delivery.

OLCC Commissioner Jennifer Currin of Pendleton said the masks are about keeping people safe.

"As a commissioner, I think that I am generally in support of the mask requirement from an OLCC standpoint because our mission focuses on public safety and livability, and wearing a mask is a factor in that," Currin said. "The mask requirement is an attempt to keep things going without shutting everything down."

The rules and guidelines in the executive order do not apply only to businesses but also public agencies. The Union County Courthouse shared its plans for accommodating those who may not be able to wear a mask, which includes enforcing social distancing rules and allowing the use of face shields, which the court can provide, according to Trial Court Administrator Michelle Leonard.

Leonard said people also have the option to have hearings virtually, with a few exceptions.

Some posts on social media tout there are documents or official-looking cards stating there are medical or disability exemptions for wearing a mask. However, the U.S. Department of Justice released an official statement explaining such cards and flyers are fake.

But some locals said wearing a mask can be problematic.

North Powder resident Judy Nelson said she has a health condition that makes breathing difficult, even without a mask on. When she visited Walmart last weekend, she said she was informed she could not enter without a face covering and was not told about any alternatives. Although Nelson has purchased a face shield as an alternative covering, she said it won't arrive until late July. While she waits, she wears a mask.

Nelson said she wears a mask to follow the executive order and because of the stigma around not wearing one, despite how difficult it is for her. She said she doesn't think any particular group should be exempt from wearing masks.

"I can't say I should be exempt because if I don't comply, people are pretty nasty with their remarks and looks, like I have done something wrong," Nelson said.

La Grande resident Savannah Zacharias said she has seen people in Walmart without masks, and some who come in with them on but then take them off once they are past the entrance where an employee is checking for masks. Zacharias said she wears a mask because of medical conditions and is frustrated with those who do not wear one.

"I don't think it is a problem wearing them, because you are in the store for an hour or less to do your shopping and it's not going to hurt anyone wearing them," Zacharias said. "I feel better when other people are wearing them, like we are helping each other without saying anything."

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