Phase One is Coming
As you’re surely aware, Oregon is beginning to loosen certain restrictions. Many counties, some recreation areas, and others are making the transition to the first phase. Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties are still a few weeks away, as they work to increase testing and contact tracing capabilities. So, what will reopening mean for you, your family, or your business?
Frankly, it’s complicated. Staying home is still the best way to minimize your risk and contain the spread of the virus. However, like with many prescriptions, it comes with side effects — in this case mental health, economic stability, and deferred medical care, to name a few. The goal of loosening restrictions is to reduce these side effects with minimal impact on viral transmission until we have a vaccine.
To try and make things easier, we’d like to offer you a framework for minimizing your risk and your risk to others.
First, practice safe personal habits.
We must be vigilant in handwashing, surface disinfecting, physical distancing, and mask wearing. The protection offered by this combination works. It works in hospital COVID units, and when practiced faithfully, it will work for you. Check your symptoms before you leave your house. It should go without saying, but if you have symptoms, don’t leave your house except to get medical care. Then wait 72 hours after you are symptom-free before venturing out.
Second, make wise choices about where and when to go out.
Not all excursions carry the same risks. There are three variables in play here: proximity (how close?), duration (how long?), and location (open air, or poorly ventilated?). Passing an infected person on the sidewalk at six feet is lower risk than being across an open-air restaurant from them, which is a lower risk than sharing a poorly-ventilated conference room or public restroom. So, minimize the amount of time you spend in areas where you anticipate the greatest risk. For a really accessible reading on these variables, check this out.
Third, keep in mind that we’re all in this together.
When you practice safe personal habits and make wise choices about when and where to go, it makes the environment safer for everyone to move about more freely and helps protect those who cannot yet go out. That is true whether you are attempting to work safely or socialize responsibly. If easing restrictions results in more community spread, the disease will find its way into vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, people of color, those experiencing houselessness, incarcerated individuals, or the differently abled. Be mindful and compassionate with others as you adapt to our new environment.
Finally, reflect on your actions and their results.
People’s brains often trick them into illogical thinking when behavior and consequences are disconnected. What seems ok in the moment becomes obviously wrong after the fact. In the moment, you might think “I just need to run into the store for a coconut water. It’ll just take a minute. It’s fine.” But when remembering the event later, you’re more logical, “Ugh! Why would I risk going into a Plaid Pantry without a mask on?! I’ll never do that again.” Maybe you don’t like coconut water, or wouldn’t go into Plaid Pantry. Imagine a scenario where you’ve arranged an appropriately distanced backyard gathering, but someone urgently needs to use your restroom. Daniel Kahneman’s Nobel Prize winning work revealed that the principle is the same. Humans are bad at judging unseen risks, especially when the rewards are more obvious.
Reflect on your actions, make plans to correct for your missteps, and you’ll gain more control over your risk.
Is anyone more ready to re-open society than teens?
Dr. Heather and Dr. Michael returned this week with Episode 6 of their video blog. They’ve graduated to talking about issues in living with teens and young adults. The weight of disappointment that comes from missing out on rights of passage. Seeking independence while isolated with your parents. How to distinguish between a dry cough and a voice hoarse from yelling. As usual, they’ve covered some weighty topics with clarity and levity. Watch it here
Key to Oregon study
Researchers have begun recruitment for the “Key to Oregon” study, a massive epidemiological project to better understand COVID-19 in Oregon. Researchers are working to enroll 100,000 participants who will report their daily temperatures and other COVID-19 symptoms for 12 months. Some asymptomatic participants will also be tested for COVID-19, in order to gain insights on the hidden spread of the disease. This information will add to the data streams that state officials receive from labs, hospitals, and emergency departments to guide the state response to the pandemic. If you are invited to participate, we encourage you to do so. Click here for more information.
Immunizations
The State of Oregon is seeing a 50% decrease in vaccination rates for children, which is alarming for public health. We must not allow concern about this pandemic become the cause of other epidemics. If you have delayed vaccinations, this is the time to catch up. If your child is a patient with us, rest assured we will reach out to you if there are any missing or overdue vaccinations.
Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome
Perhaps you’ve heard about this on the news. This condition is very rare and is still being investigated and defined. Specific symptoms noted by one of the specialists who treated the first Oregon case include unexplained high fevers, red eyes, abdominal pain, swollen hands and feet and possible rashes. It has mostly been diagnosed in New York and Europe. Scientists believe this regional discrepancy is because there is a slightly different strain of SARS-CoV-2 in those locations than the predominant strain in Oregon and Asia. There has been one case identified in Oregon. The Oregon Health Authority is monitoring this syndrome. We are aware of it and the current treatment recommendations.
As always, we want to leave you with something fun. Enjoy this clip of reopening gone awry.
Take care,
Baskin Clinic