Sept. 22, 2021
Across Oregon, college students are returning to campuses and finding that dating and relationships are different than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking precautions to protect oneself and others from acquiring or spreading COVID-19 continues to be an important part of our everyday lives.
But, with the availability of vaccines and testing there is a natural desire to want to return to “normal,” to do the everyday activities we enjoy and probably took for granted before March 2020. For young adults, dating and intimacy can be particularly challenging with COVID-19 still being a risk factor.
Here are some tips for staying safe while dating:
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Get vaccinated.
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Communicate your level of comfort and expectations.
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If it’s important to you, ask your date if they are vaccinated.
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If it feels safer, stick with virtual dating.
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If Zoom dates aren’t cutting it, consider outdoor activities like a picnic, hike or patio dining.
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Before meeting in person, ask your date how they have been feeling and if they have potential COVID-19 symptoms, postpone for 10 days.
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If you are in a crowd outdoors or are inside a public space, please wear a mask and physically distance.
Sometimes navigating the world of dating, relationships and sex can be confusing and awkward, but with COVID-19 there are additional concerns and health risks.
If you plan to be intimate, consider:
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COVID-19 can be spread by close, physical contact including kissing, sex and other acts that will likely exchange bodily fluids.
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If you or your date/partner think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, put a hold on sexual activities and discuss how you can practice safer sex moving forward.
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Having one sexual partner who has limited exposure to others in their daily interactions.
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Using condoms, internal condoms, or dental dams.
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If both of you are vaccinated, feeling well and are taking precautions to avoid COVID-19 exposure, intimacy is likely to be safe.
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You are your safest sexual partner!
Sex can and should be fun, healthy and loving. But please remember that the best intimate interactions also mean:
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Choosing not to have sex for any reason — if you don’t give your consent to continue — must always be respected.
If you or someone you know is struggling to pay the rent, The Oregon Emergency Rental Assistance Program may be able to help.
Apply at OregonRentalAssistance.org.
To ensure a smooth and easy application process make sure to:
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 187 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, with three or more confirmed cases and one or more COVID-19 related deaths.
Starting today, the weekly Outbreak Report is updating how school outbreaks will be reported.
The Outbreak Report will continue to report the number of cases in schools by student and staff or volunteer status. Active and resolved outbreaks will now include all cases linked to the outbreak and will no longer differentiate cases among students and staff.
Outbreaks in K-12 schools are defined as having two or more cases identified, where there is evidence of transmission, at school. Outbreaks may include cases who were not at school but are close contacts of those exposed at school. This provides a more accurate picture of the scale of K-12 related outbreaks and how they may link to other cases in the community.
Schools should continue to notify their local public health authority of all positive cases identified among students and staff, including those who are reporting a positive at-home COVID-19 test.
The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows decreases in daily cases and hospitalizations and an increase in deaths.
OHA reported 11,655 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 19. That represents a 10% decrease from the previous week.
There were 579 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down slightly from 592 last week.
There were 148 reported COVID-19 related deaths, up from 120 reported the previous week.
There were 140,538 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Sept. 12 through Sept. 18. The percentage of positive tests was 10.5%, down from 12% the previous week and the lowest level of test positivity in six weeks.
We want to keep you informed about COVID-19 in Oregon. Data are provisional and change frequently.
• Samples for 438,332 tests have been reported positive.
• Samples for 6,339,024 tests have been reported negative.
COVID-19 hospitalizations
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 across Oregon is 939, which is five fewer than yesterday. There are 270 COVID-19 patients in intensive care unit (ICU) beds, which is six more than yesterday.
There are 39 available adult ICU beds out of 649 total (6% availability) and 315 available adult non-ICU beds out of 4,272 (7% availability).
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: Please do not visit an emergency department for COVID-19 testing, unless you require emergency care for your symptoms.
Emergency departments in Oregon are under significant strain responding to the current surge in COVID-19. You can find a test here.
If you have a medical condition that doesn’t require emergency care, contact your provider. An urgent care center may also help you get the care you need and will save emergency departments from added strain.
Today, OHA reported that 9,765 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry on Sept. 21. Of this total, 3,965 were administered on Sept. 21: 1,774 were initial doses, 1,712 were second doses and 451 were third doses. The remaining 5,800 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry on Sept. 21.
The seven-day running average is now 7,763 doses per day.
Oregon has now administered 2,931,592 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 1,891,669 doses of Moderna and 211,673 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, 2,714,604 people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 2,479,317 people have completed a COVID-19 vaccine series.
These data are preliminary and subject to change.
Updated vaccination data are provided on Oregon’s COVID-19 data dashboards and have been updated today.
There are 26 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 3,649 the Oregon Health Authority reported at 12:01 a.m. today.
Oregon Health Authority reported 2,312 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 as of 12:01 a.m. today bringing the state total to 317,107.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (19), Benton (41), Clackamas (218), Clatsop (14), Columbia (33), Coos (53), Crook (12), Curry (4), Deschutes (169), Douglas (59), Gilliam (1), Grant (68), Harney (27), Hood River (9), Jackson (106), Jefferson (21), Josephine (33), Klamath (39), Lake (9), Lane (143), Lincoln (28), Linn (119), Malheur (41), Marion (266), Morrow (7), Multnomah (319), Polk (45), Sherman (1), Tillamook (12), Umatilla (72), Union (16), Wallowa (13), Wasco (18), Washington (224) and Yamhill (53).
Note: More information about the cases and deaths will be provided in an updated news release.
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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