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Friends and Neighbors,
As we begin another heat wave, it’s important to not only look out for ourselves, but also our neighbors. Leaving a child or animal in a car when the summer heat comes is dangerous, and this upcoming week has the potential to be especially so. Stay hydrated throughout the day, and keep enough water with you for yourself and any friends or family with you.
Please check on our neighbors during this time. The elderly and children are most susceptible to the effects of heat and heat stroke, but some medications and medical conditions can also put people at a heightened risk. Check in with your community regularly -- share a fan with someone who needs it, invite someone out to an air conditioned movie or museum, and always wear SPF 15 or higher when you go out in the sun.
Washington County Resources
Washington County has two pet-friendly locations at St. Anthony’s Church in Tigard and the Hillsboro Civic Center.
Clackamas County Resources
Tips for Staying Safe and Cool in Extreme Heat
- Drink water and bring extra bottles both for yourself and others.
- Drink more water than usual and don’t wait until you are thirsty. Talk to your doctor first if you are on water pills.
- Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks.
- Take a cool shower or bath.
- Use air conditioning or a fan. If you need access to an air conditioner, air purifier, or other items to support your health, go to Health Share of Oregon's website.
- Don’t use a fan to blow extremely hot air on yourself, use it to create cross-ventilation.
- Wear lightweight and loose clothing.
- Avoid using your stove or oven.
- Avoid going outside during the hottest part of the day (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
- Avoid eating raw oysters and undercooked shellfish. The warm weather is affecting shellfish in the Pacific Northwest resulting in multiple confirmed cases of vibriosis. Eating raw oysters and other undercooked seafood can increase the chance you will get sick with vibriosis because Vibrio bacteria thrive in coastal waters where oysters are harvested. Learn more on the CDC's website.
To take care of those around you:
- Check in on elders and vulnerable neighbors during warm weather — twice a day is best.
- Never leave a person, child or a pet in a hot car.
- Check regularly on how babies and toddlers, seniors, people taking mental health medications and people with heart disease or high blood pressure are doing.
- Share a fan.
- Invite a friend to escape the heat by going to a splash pad, movie, mall, museum, or other place with AC.
If you must be out in the heat:
- Limit your outdoor activity to morning and evening hours.
- Rest often in shady areas.
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat
- Use sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher (the most effective products say “broad spectrum” or “UVA/UVB protection” on their labels) and reapply as directed.
- Consider packing a couple extra bottles of water, these could be used for you and your family or anyone you see that looks like they could use a cool drink of water.
- Know that the heat index (what the temperature feels like when humidity is involved) plays a role. When sweat isn't able to evaporate from the body due to high humidity, the body has difficulty regulating its temperature and cooling itself off. The result? heat stroke, cramps and exhaustion are all likely to happen.
Look at the chart below from the National Weather Service indicating the levels of the heat index.
State of Oregon Resources
You can learn more about heat related illness on the Oregon Health Authority's website created to help Oregonians navigate heat hazards, is available in multiple languages and you can view it here.
Indoor Masks Recommendation
The OHA has announced it is recommending universal mask use in public indoor settings. The highly transmissible Delta variant is causing a jump in cases and hospitalizations in Oregon, and wearing a mask indoors will protect our unvaccinated community members and our healthcare workers, and save lives. The vaccines are safe and highly effective at preventing severe illness from COVID-19, even from the Delta variant, but masks will protect from the small but known risk of infection.
Getting vaccinated and helping your friends and family get vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself and your community from COVID-19.
Read the press release here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/…/bulletins/2ea4ad0
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