Volunteers pass out chips, hot dogs, water and ice cream at Celebrate La Grande on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. The year’s end-of-summer celebration was drive-thru only due to the coronavirus last summer, and likely will be again in 2021.

LA GRANDE — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s announcement on Tuesday, Aug. 24, that the state would restore its outdoor mask mandate in many public settings will have an impact locally.

The La Grande Farmers Market plans to continue operating outdoors in the downtown area, adding new COVID-19 protocols. According to Market Manager Dylan Howell, patrons and vendors will be required to wear masks at all times and social distancing is encouraged.

“As far as the market is concerned, we’re trying to follow the state guidelines as close as possible in order to ensure vendor and customer safety,” Howell said.

The outdoor mask mandate goes into effect Aug. 27, and Howell said the La Grande Farmers Market will start requiring masks at the market the following day. The market is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

“We try to be as reactive as we can,” he said. “The plan is to start implementing our own requirements for masks.”

The governor’s mandate makes Oregon the first state in the nation to bring back outdoor masking requirements, amid the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.

Union County’s COVID-19 numbers have skyrocketed in August with 491 positive cases, making it the highest of any month since the start of the pandemic.

At Eastern Oregon University, the spike in COVID-19 comes at a time when students are beginning to plan their return to La Grande. According to Public Relations Specialist Vicky Hart, events that could be impacted by the new mandate are Welcome Week and other startup activities. Hart said that a number of events had already moved outdoors due to COVID-19, so mask usage will likely be applied.

Other startup activities at Eastern include student athletes returning to campus, the college prep event Summer Bridge, outdoor hiking trip East Tracks and campus move-in. Summer Bridge planned for social distancing ahead of time and will provide masks to those who need them.

“We will be looking at the implications of the mandate on our outdoor activities and events, but EOU is fortunate to have a lot of space to use for outdoor events,” said Tim Seydel, vice president for university advancement. “Athletics is already looking at how to manage attendance at events like football games.”

La Grande Parks and Recreation Director Stu Spence said the mask mandate will impact people attending sporting events in the city’s parks but not participants.

“It will affect organized activities that have spectators but not athletic participants,” he said.

The new mandate could also impact this year’s scheduled Celebrate La Grande event.

“It is possible that this news could change our plans,” said Jeff Crews, a member of the Celebrate La Grande Committee.

Celebrate La Grande is held each September and traditionally was an event where people gather on Adams Avenue in the Max Square area to enjoy a free meal together with music and other entertainment. In 2020 the celebration was moved to the Union County Fairgrounds because of the pandemic and was made into a drive-thru event. People drove to the fairgrounds where they were given free meals while remaining in their vehicles.

Crews said organizers were planning a similar drive-thru Celebrate La Grande event this year, scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 9, from 5-7 p.m. He said the Celebrate La Grande Committee will meet to determine what modifications there might be in light of the outdoor mandate announcement.

The new rules will apply to all residents older than 5, regardless of vaccination status, and apply to most public spaces where people from different households cannot maintain sufficient physical distance from one another.

The policy doesn’t apply to encounters when people pass each other on the street or a trail, and it doesn’t cover private gatherings. Brown, however, recommended that Oregonians wear masks when gathered at home with visitors from multiple households.