The beginning of this school year is unusual in many ways. Most students are attending school in an online format, and many parents and caregivers are also working from home. If you’re in this situation, it’s natural to feel nervous about how to manage this juggling act. Here are some ideas that may help:
- Get familiar with the learning platform your child is using. Many online platforms have reminder and planning tools to help you and your child stay aware and on track.
- Learn your child’s daily school schedule and plan to try to be available for the times they may need support. For example, some children might need help logging in at the start of the day.
- Prepare for interruptions. For example, will your home network handle both you and your children to be working online at the same time?
- Establish a routine. You can write up a schedule that includes wake-up times, meals, breaks, class transitions, times for online versus offline work during your workday so that everyone is on the same page about daily expectations.
To learn more, the American Academy of Pediatrics has more tips about working and learning from home and age-based tips on how to juggle parenting and working at home during COVID-19.
Remote learning and your child’s mental and physical health
After you have made sure your child’s workspace, schedule and physical fitness are taken care of, you may worry about mental and social/emotional health. How can you help them cope during this time? Check out the graphic below for some tips.
To learn more about coping during COVID-19, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and howrightnow.org.
Oregon Health Authority features new COVID-19 dashboard
Today, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) launched a new version of the dashboard Oregon COVID-19 Case Demographics and Disease Severity Statewide to provide more information on the demographics of COVID-19 cases in Oregon.
The new dashboard will present case rates per 100,000 people, which more clearly shows disparities in the burden of COVID-19 between demographic groups. In addition to case counts and rates, users will be able to view the percent of cases in each age group, sex, race and ethnicity that have ever been hospitalized for their illness or have died with COVID-19.
Updates to the County Watch List
On Friday, Governor Kate Brown announced that Umatilla and Morrow counties have reduced the spread of COVID-19 enough to be removed from the County Watch List. She also announced that Morrow County’s application to move to Phase 2 of reopening has been approved, effective immediately.
“I want to commend county officials and community members in Umatilla and Morrow Counties for stepping up and working together to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” Governor Brown said. “The progress they have made in curbing community transmission shows that we can reduce the spread of this disease if we all do our part by wearing face coverings, watching our physical distance, washing our hands, staying home when sick and avoiding large gatherings.”
OHA ends publication of Weekly Testing Summary, data published daily
OHA will no longer issue the Weekly Testing Summary because the data is currently available on a timelier basis on the OHA website. Testing totals for the prior week, test positivity statewide for the prior week, and cumulative test positivity statewide are available at this link.
Oregon’s COVID-19 Weekly Report Summary will continue to give details on the number of Oregonians tested and the percentage of tests that are positive. View all COVID-19 Weekly Reports here.
Other testing-related announcements or issues, such as changes in the national testing supply chain, will be noted in daily press releases on an as-needed basis. OHA’s most recent testing guidance for healthcare providers can be found here.
Oregon reports 201 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, three new deaths
COVID-19 has claimed three more lives in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 529, the Oregon Health Authority reported Monday September 21st.
OHA also reported 201 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total to 30,995.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported are in the following counties: Benton (2), Clackamas (16), Clatsop (2), Columbia (2), Coos (4), Curry (3), Deschutes (8), Douglas (2), Hood River (1), Jackson (18), Josephine (3), Klamath (2), Lane (28), Lincoln (1), Linn (1), Malheur (12), Marion (18), Morrow (2), Multnomah (35), Tillamook (1), Umatilla (4), Wasco (10), Washington (25), and Yamhill (1).
