Oregon COVID-19 Cases Rise, Multnomah County Urges Indoor Masks

GRESHAM, OR — Rising COVID-19 cases numbers prompted Multnomah County to ask people to start wearing masks indoors again.

County officials stressed that they are not issuing a mandate, just a request.

Multnomah County health officer, Dr. Jennifer Vines, said that masks were advised only until case numbers start going back down.

On May 11, Multnomah County averaged 349 cases per day over the previous seven days, up from the 75 per day seven-day average registered on March 11.

"When local public health sees disease activity go up, we want to make sure the public knows about the risk and know what they can do that will help," Vines said in a statement. "We are not asking employers, organizations or event planners to do anything differently. This is a message for individuals, especially those who are at high risk of severe COVID."

Vines added that people should be up to date on their vaccines and boosters and stay home if they are symptomatic or suspect that they've been exposed.

"We are asking everyone to put their masks back on for a few weeks as they go to school, work and other indoor events," Vines said. "We want to minimize the spread of illness so that people can stay well and can attend all the spring events they have planned.

Vines and other health officials said that the increase in COVID-19 cases was not expected to be as severe as earlier omicron or delta surges.

Oregon Health Sciences University released a forecast last week that concluded the current increase should top out in June, with about 320 people hospitalized each day, well below the nearly 1,200 daily hospitalizations during the earlier omicron surge.

Health officials in Washington and Clackamas counties were not following Multnomah County's footsteps at this point but said that they will continue to monitor the numbers.