July 20, 2021
Today, Gabriela Goldfarb, manager of the OHA’s Environmental Public Health section, joined Governor Kate Brown and other Oregon leaders to address the impact of the early wildfire season.
Risks to health
“We are always concerned about smoke exposure for people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children, pregnant people, communities of color, people living in poverty and houseless people,” said Goldfarb. “All these groups are at higher risk of harmful health effects from wildfire smoke exposure.”
Exposure to smoke and other forms of air pollution not only increases the risk of contracting infectious respiratory disease, it can also add to the severity of the infections and worsen any underlying chronic respiratory conditions.
Actions people can take to protect themselves
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Make sure you have your medications.
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Purchase air filtration devices or filters for indoor ventilation systems.
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Make your own DIY air cleaner with a box fan and filters.
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Make arrangements ahead of time to stay with family or friends in another part of the state.
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Learn more about what to do when smoke levels are high.
If you are in a place with high smoke levels:
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Stay inside, if possible, with windows and doors closed.
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Avoid vacuuming, burning candles or other activities that increase indoor air pollution.
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Operate your HVAC system or air filtration device.
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And avoid strenuous outdoor activity.
What to know about wearing a mask:
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Smoke particles are very small, so bandanas and similar cloth masks aren’t effective to protect your lungs from wildfire smoke.
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N95 or P100 respirators approved by NIOSH may offer protection when properly fitted and worn. Masks won’t work for everyone, especially children. People with heart or lung conditions should consult their doctor before wearing a respirator.
A recording of today's live-streamed press conference is available on YouTube. Please note the video starts at the 17:43 mark.
NW Disability Support (NWDS), the community-based organization that produced Fighting COVID, has put out a second comic called Beating COVID. Beating COVID features the story of new super heroes, the Super Vaccines!
The comic is intended to address the need of having appropriate materials created for children and adults of all ages that can be used by educators, professionals and parents in their practice.
You can get a free comic along with a vaccine at two vaccination events sponsored by NWDS. The events will be held on July 21 and 28 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Multnomah Learning Academy, 22565 NE Halsey St in Fairview.
The events feature the following:
- Open to everyone 12 and older.
- No registration required.
- Drive up or go inside for vaccination.
- Disability accessible and sensory friendly.
- ASL and Spanish interpretation will be available on site.
- Free masks, sanitizer, tamales and a Beating COVID comic
If you have questions, please contact:
English: Angela Frome at afrome@nwdsa.org or 503-238-0522
Spanish: Maria Rangel at mrangel@nwdsa.org o al 503-262-4029
 
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently.
• Samples for 308,691 tests have been reported positive.
• Samples for 5,277,039 tests have been reported negative.
Today we're reporting 595 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today, bringing the state total to 213,339.
The new cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (1), Benton (5), Clackamas (35), Clatsop (4), Columbia (13), Coos (12), Crook (7), Curry (1), Deschutes (14), Douglas (14), Harney (2), Hood River (3), Jackson (63), Jefferson (4), Josephine (19), Klamath (8), Lane (42), Lincoln (6), Linn (19), Malheur (7), Marion (87), Morrow (3), Multnomah (36), Polk (32), Sherman (1), Umatilla (72), Union (6), Wallowa (1), Wasco (4), Washington (64) and Yamhill (10).
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 155, which is seven more than yesterday. There are 44 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is five more than yesterday.
The total number of patients in hospital beds may fluctuate between report times. The numbers do not reflect admissions per day, nor the length of hospital stay. Staffing limitations are not captured in this data and may further limit bed capacity.
Note: OHA does not report the vaccination status of people in our daily update of COVID-19 related deaths. However, statewide data show that people who remain unvaccinated are at much greater risk of infection and severe illness.
In June, 92% of the 7,241 COVID-19 cases and 94% of the 63 COVID-19-associated deaths occurred in unvaccinated Oregonians. On the first Thursday of each month, OHA publishes an update on vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon: ow.ly/vj6550Fn8mI
Learn more about COVID-19 vaccinations
To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine situation in Oregon, visit our webpage (English or Spanish), which has a breakdown of distribution and other information.
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