COVID-19 Update 6/16 – Thinking about BLM Protests, and a Testing Update

We’re committed to providing you with perspectives on issues throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Today, we’re covering a couple of the topics we get asked about most often. Please keep reaching out with your questions and concerns.

Testing update:  

If you have symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19, we can and will order a test for you.

If you do not have symptoms, OHA guidelines limit testing to the following criteria:

1. Close contacts of a person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 or of a person determined by a public health authority to be a presumptive case
2. People exposed to COVID-19 in a congregate setting (e.g.,healthcare facility, residential care facility, school, agricultural workers, food-packing plants, child care, corrections, shelters, etc.)
3. Migrant/seasonal agricultural workers upon arrival in Oregon
4. People who identify as Black, African-American, Latino, Latina, Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander
5. People who identify as having a disability
6. People whose first language is not English

We addressed the matter of “Can’t we just have everyone tested before ___________?” in our last newsletter and the situation has not changed. If you missed it, you can read it here.

If you must host or attend an essential, in-person function, where strict physical distance and hygiene protocols are followed, everyone is screened for symptoms beforehand, and if state testing guidelines allow for adding asymptomatic PCR testing to that mix, it could theoretically help reduce the risk. Using testing to circumvent any of those more essential prior steps would open the door to outbreak.

Regarding antibody testing, nothing has substantially changed from the time we published this Antibody Testing update. It will likely be several months or more before that changes.

What do you think about the protests for Black Lives Matter transmitting COVID-19?

Systemic racism is a public health crisis. A disproportionate share of the pandemic burden is falling on black, indigenous, and other people of color. The potential impact of the protests on the pandemic are likely to follow this trend. We worry about all of this. We can also see that this movement may have the power to transform systems in a way that reduces these injustices, and that is essential.

Fewer than five cases of COVID-19 have been connected to protests in Oregon, thus far. As economic restrictions ease, we are observing an increase in viral transmission locally and nationally via workplace transmission. As the prevalence of COVID-19 rises, the risk of community spread in public spaces also increases. In terms of individual risk, we think of a large protest march as similar to a sports stadium, large concert, or large religious service — all high risks. However, large protests pose unique contact tracing challenges compared to other types of large gatherings: there is no possibility of a seating chart, centralized contact list, or time frame of attendance. The frequency of these gatherings also compounds the challenges. In short, large protests could become a substantial setback for our efforts to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2. 

Repairing injustice and fighting systemic racism is necessary and urgent, and everyone is asking themselves how they can play a role. Not everyone has to join a mass demonstration in order to support justice. For example, attending a smaller neighborhood demonstration would mitigate some of the risks inherent to larger groups. Additional examples of low-risk actions include: reading, listening, and engaging with anti-racist ideas, donating money, having conversations with loved ones, purchasing from minority-owned businesses, and contacting policymakers. 

For those who feel the call to attend demonstrations of any size, please follow these recommendations to minimize the risks: 

• If you or those you are close to are at high-risk for serious illness, if you cannot follow these steps, if you have symptoms, or even if you have had contact with someone who has symptoms, we encourage you to find another way to show your support. 
• Wash your hands before you go. 
• Bring hand sanitizer and use it often. 
• Wear a mask at all times. 
• Give people around you physical space (walking a bike can help). 
• Use signs where possible, as this reduces transmission versus shouting or singing.
• Make your signs beforehand, rather than sharing supplies. 
• Bring your own water and snacks. 
• Do not carpool with other households. 
• Take a shower when you get home. 
• If you can, bring extra masks and hand sanitizer with you, and offer them to people if you see they have none.
• Remember that any limiting of physical distancing elevates your risk of acquiring or transmitting the virus. Closely monitor yourself for symptoms, and take extra care in all subsequent public or social settings for the next two weeks.

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As always, we want to leave you with something fun. This former NASA mechanical engineer has spent part of his quarantine building the ultimate squirrel proof bird feeder/ most excellent squirrel obstacle course of all time.

Take care,

Baskin Clinic