It was always about control and power and that is becoming more apparent daily.

The state of Oregon has now hatched a plan to make its mask mandate at indoor gatherings permanent, KOMO reported.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) convened a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) on Thursday. The RAC provided feedback on the indoor mask rule. The point of the committee is to suggest what should and shouldn’t be included in the ruling and discuss the impact it will have on the public.

Community stakeholders, including those from the hospitality and faith sectors, joined in the meeting. People from the Seventh Day Adventists Church, the High Desert Museum, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and McMenamins were a part of the conversation.

This is the first step in making the rule permanent.

Dr. Paul Cieslak, the medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations with OHA, says making the rule permanent doesn’t mean it’ll be in place forever.

“Permanent means indefinite. It doesn’t necessarily mean permanent,” he said. “We can repeal it as well, but we are only allowed to have a temporary rule for 180 days, and anything that goes beyond 180 days, we cannot extend it.”

Yes, they are going to repeal it someday … and they only want 15 days to slow the spread too.

The mandates are having their effect on businesses, Paloma Sparks of the Oregon Business & Industry association, said.

“Getting people to comply is getting harder,” she said.

“Oregon has not yet publicly released a copy of the draft permanent rule, so it’s not clear whether it includes any major changes to the guidelines from the current temporary rule, KGW8 reported.

The draft permanent rule will be released publicly by mid-December, according to OHA policy specialist Ilana Kurtzig, and there will be a public comment period starting in late December leading up to a public hearing in mid-January.

In October “Portland Monthly” reported that the mandate in the city could stick around until the Spring.

“We do not have specific metrics, as there are so many items with potential impacts,” Rudy Owens, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, said. “OHA expects population immunity in Oregon to steadily improve, especially with vaccination likely expanding to younger children and booster doses now being given. There are many variables involved in transmission, including community variation in vaccination rates, variation in adherence to preventive behaviors, (such as) masking, distancing and avoiding large gatherings, and new variants that could emerge. So there is not a particular level of population immunity at which point we can assume the virus will stop spreading.”

Could be the Spring. Could be next Spring. Could be some Spring when your great grandkids are retirement age.

After all, governments do not generally give back power after they have it.