May 28, 2020
Oregon Health Authority has presented guidance for agricultural workers and the use of a KN95 mask. https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/…/Served/le2393.pdf The best recommendations continue to be physical distancing of at least six feet from others and cleaning hands often with soap and water. In the agricultural industry, that is not always easy. As a result, Governor Kate Brown has made available approximately 1 million KN95 masks and 5,000 gallons of hand sanitizer for farm workers and agricultural producers. The personal protective equipment is being supplied at no cost to the agricultural community in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Distribution points have been identified throughout the state with a limited amount of supplies available. The distribution site for Baker, Grant, Harney, Lake, Malheur, Union and Wallowa Counties is at Oregon Department of Agriculture, 309 NE 3rd Avenue in Ontario. It is recommended that if you are interested in these supplies to call in advance. The phone number for this site is 541-889-5274. A minimal amount of supplies are also available in Union County. Interested members of the agricultural community should contact Darrin Walenta at Oregon State Extension office at (541) 963-1010 or email at Darrin.walenta@oregonstate.edu.
Agricultural workers should use the KN95 masks when working in close proximity and physical distancing is not possible. This includes during shared rides in employer provided transportation to their place of work, office, field, or other location. Workers may also choose to wear a mask when sharing rides in personal vehicles. The mask should not be worn while working in high temperatures or a while conducting a physically exerting task. The KN95 mask should not be worn while applying pesticides as adequate respiratory protection is not provided.
Statewide COVID-19 Guidance is available in many different languages for printing or viewing at https://govstatus.egov.com/or-covid-19. Some of the languages include Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Russian.
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Agency has resources available during the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources include general guidance, expectations of employers, job health and safety for Oregon contractors, and the scope of Oregon OSHA COVID-19 activity. This information can be found at https://osha.oregon.gov/covid19/Pages/default.aspx.
Union County remains at six confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which five meet the Oregon Health Authority definition of recovered. Wallowa County has two confirmed cases, of which one has been classified as recovered. Oregon Health Authority is reporting a total of 4,086 confirmed and presumptive cases, and 151 deaths statewide.