With an increase of COVID-19 cases in Malheur County, it is important for everyone who lives, shops, and works in our community to wear a cloth face covering when in public. A cloth face covering should be worn whenever you are out of your home, especially in situations where you may be near people. Face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing.

Although cloth face coverings don’t provide full protection to the wearer, masks can protect others nearby by removing contaminated droplets from the air released by asymptomatic people when breathing or talking.

Follow these guidelines for cloth face coverings:

• Face coverings can be made out of cloth or improvised using bandannas, scarves, T-shirts, sweatshirts or towels.
• The material should cover both the nose and mouth.
• Be sure your mask is comfortable; you don’t want to have to keep adjusting the mask, because that means touching your face.
• The wearer should be able to remove their own mask easily. No one who is unable to remove their own mask should wear one. Vulnerable individuals should not leave home except for to access health care.
• Wash your hands, or use hand sanitizer, before and after touching your face or face coverings.

Lastly, a huge THANK YOU to the Mask Ontario Save Our City group for a big donation of cloth face coverings that the Malheur County Health Department distributed at the recent Drive Up Testing Site. We are so grateful!