Since Gov. Kate Brown ordered Oregonians statewide to wear, some residents who are philosophically opposed to covering their mouths and noses have come up with an easy out: Declaring a medical exemption. (1/15)

Brown’s July 1 order exempts anyone with a medical condition “that makes it hard to breathe” or with “a disability that prevents the individual from wearing a mask” during the novel coronavirus pandemic. (2/15)

So far the governors of 22 states have instituted statewide mask orders, and all 22 have allowed exemptions for medical conditions. (3/15)

Disability groups and doctors agree that there is a very small but real group of people who shouldn’t wear masks for health reasons. (4/15)

But in Oregon and across the nation, the veracity of health claims made by a much larger group of maskless people has been viewed with suspicion. (5/15)

One Portland woman proudly tweeted: “I went to the mall the other day, (T)arget, Peet’s... got asked to wear a mask and said I have a health condition so I didn’t have to wear one ...it works... (M)asks are not effective anyways.” (6/15)

Medical professionals say it’s the rare medical condition that might make it dangerous to cover up. (7/15)

Those conditions include people with extreme respiratory ailments or muscular or motor-control disorders that prevent them from removing a mask in an emergency. (8/15)

An Oregon Health & Science University review of various clinical studies, published last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found no evidence of serious harm from masks. The review concluded that masks are effective at slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus. (9/15)

Advocates for people with disabilities point out there are some people with conditions that aren’t visible who might encounter extreme distress from covering their faces. That includes some people with autism, claustrophobia or post-traumatic stress disorder. (10/15)

As long as businesses and government agencies make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, the advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon welcomes Brown’s mask order. (11/15)

Those accommodations might include having employees grocery shop for people with disabilities who can’t wear masks or informing people with disabilities about pickup or delivery options. (12/15)

An employee might wear a transparent mask to make lip reading possible or communicate through writing with a deaf or hard-of-hearing person. Doctors’ offices might offer accommodations through telemedicine. (13/15)

By far, people with disabilities benefit from universal mask orders because they’re at greatest risk of complications from COVID-19 if they come down with it, said Jake Cornett, executive director of Disability Rights Oregon. (14/15)

“When others really refuse to wear a mask, it’s dangerous and it says that the lives of people with disabilities don’t matter,” Cornett said. “And I can’t really imagine a more shameful thing than that.”

Read the full story: https://trib.al/NeBIs7g  (15/15)

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