Over a Dozen Oregon Cultural Attractions Confirm They Will Continue to Require Visitors to Wear Masks

Days after complaints and threats over mask policy canceled the reopening of Salem-area amusement park Enchanted Forest, a coalition of 14 Oregon museums and attractions banded together to say they’ll continue to mandate that visitors wear masks.

The statement comes a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer have to physically distance or wear masks in most situations, both indoors and out. On Tuesday, the Oregon Health Authority released guidelines stating that businesses may either continue to require masks or allow guests who provide proof of vaccination to enter buildings without masks.

Few Oregon businesses enjoy that choice. So far, almost all the state’s best-known retailers have said they’ll stick with requiring masks for everybody, rather than checking vaccination cards.

Now some of the state’s top tourist attractions say the same.

Among the institutions who will maintain the mask requirement are the Oregon Zoo, Oregon Historical Society, Portland Art Museum and Lan Su Chinese Garden.

Read the full statement below:

“While our organizations have different missions, we share much in common. We are all community spaces where everyone can come together to learn and to deepen our understanding of the world we share. We all welcome visitors of all ages. And we all understand that the health and safety of our visitors, staffs, and volunteers must remain our top priority. For now, we agree that means continuing to require our visitors to wear masks. This policy will also allow us to offer a safe and welcoming space to families with children who are not currently eligible to be vaccinated as well as to individuals who are unable to get vaccinated. We all look forward to the day in the near future when we can safely lift the mask requirement.

As conditions change, our individual policies may change as well. Please check the website of each organization as you plan your visit.”

Full list of signatories:

Architectural Heritage Center

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

Five Oaks Museum

Japanese American Museum of Oregon

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Oregon Coast Aquarium

Oregon Historical Society

Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

Oregon Zoo

Portland Art Museum

Portland Chinatown Museum

Pittock Mansion

Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals