COVID-19

Sign up here for global, national, and local COVID-19 updates.

March 12, 2022, changes to quarantining and masking guidelines:

What is changing?

• Masks are no longer required in schools and general indoor settings*.
• If you’re exposed to someone with COVID-19, you no longer need to quarantine away from others. In schools and day care environments, this means children don’t need to go home after an exposure.

What is not changing?

• Masks will still be required in health care settings, on public transportation and in airports.
• Quarantining after an exposure to someone who has COVID-19 is still recommended in high-risk settings like congregate care settings, jails, shelters and health care settings.
• If you have COVID-19 or symptoms, you still need to isolate away from others. 
• This means children and adults should stay home if they have COVID-19 
• symptoms or test positive. 
• Schools will continue to exclude individuals who have symptoms or known COVID-19 infections, and the isolation period remains at five days with five additional days of masking.

Why are these changes happening?

• Oregon’s COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations have dropped to preOmicron levels.
• Oregon’s COVID-19 test positivity rate has dropped dramatically.
• A significant proportion of Oregon’s population has been immunized through vaccinations and COVID-19 infections. 
• COVID-19 transmission occurs quickly, and many people who have the virus have no symptoms, or mild symptoms. A lot of cases never get reported
• The changes align with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.

Some people in Oregon may choose to continue wearing masks.
Oregon Health Authority recommends people who are unvaccinated, immunocompromised, at higher risk for complications, 65 and older, or who live with someone in one of these categories should continue to mask.

*Individual businesses and school districts may choose to set their own mask rules. 

For more information on COVID-19 updates, click here.
 

For general information or health-related information on COVID-19, please call 866-917-8881.

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that are common in people and many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and now COVID-19. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China. Currently, Omicron continues to be the dominant variant in the United States.

Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 has taken the lives of 6,124 Oregonians as of  February 1^st, 2022. 

Jefferson County Public Health recommends taking everyday precautions to prevent the spread of many respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and influenza ("the flu"):

• Get vaccinated against COVID-19
• Wear a mask when out in public
• Maintain social distancing of six feet when in public
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Clean and disinfect surfaces that are often touched.
• Take care of your health overall by eating well, exercising, and staying up-to-date on your vaccinations

Consult CDC’s travel website for any travel advisories and steps to protect yourself if you plan to travel outside of the US.

Most people with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms. If you are feeling sick with mild symptoms and do not need to see medical care, stay home while you recover. If you are sick and plan to seek care, please call before going in for care so arrangements can be made to prevent exposing others. For urgent medical needs, call 911.

Additional Resources