While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is strongly suggesting everyone wear a face mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease, one county in Oregon is giving a total pass to people of color.
According to health officials in Lincoln County, Oregon, people of color do not have to wear a mask if they have “heightened concerns about racial profiling and harassment” and “no person shall intimidate or harass people who do not comply.”
It’s important to note, however, that Lincoln County is home to some 50,000 people where nearly 90 percent white and just 0.9 percent of a Black/African American population according to 2019 Census data.
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Not covering your face due to fear of violence and police harassment is a serious reality considering Black men are three times more likely to be killed by police, as reported by a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Not wearing a mask puts Black people in Lincoln at risk, but wearing masks could equally do the same.
