Republican Alek Skarlatos Slams Oregon’s Mask Mandate

Alek Skarlatos, a Republican and congressional candidate, released a statement slamming the new mandate in Oregon put in place by Democrat Gov. Kate Brown requiring everyone to wear a mask — even those who are vaccinated.

“It’s troubling that Democrats continue to use the pandemic to advance their liberal agenda despite the fact that over 70% of Oregon has been vaccinated,” Skarlatos said on the news of Brown setting the stage to bring back the mask mandate for everyone, including the vaccinated.

“From Governor Kate Brown to Congressman Peter DeFazio, liberal politicians want to fundamentally change the way we live, and forcing vaccinated Oregonians to mask up is just another example of their abuse of power,” the Republican added.

Brown previously said that the statewide restrictions put in place to curb the Chinese coronavirus would be lifted if the state was able to get to the targeted vaccination rate of 70 percent.

The goal of reopening at the time was June 21 to reopen, the Associated Press reported.

In July, KDRV reported that 70 percent of Oregon adults received at least one dose of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine, which was just two days after Brown initially lifted the majority of restrictions.

Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said:

The 70% adult vaccination goal means we have a better chance to sustain a safe reopening. The safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines continue to drive down new cases, hospitalizations and deaths in our state. Thank you to everyone who’s been vaccinated and everyone who helped administer these life-saving vaccines. …But COVID-19 hasn’t gone away. It’s our goal to vaccinate eight in 10 people across Oregon, particularly adults in communities of color and other under-vaccinated groups.

KDRV noted, “More than nine of every 10 recent cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Oregon were among those who were unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, according to the OHA.”