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Higher risk of coronavirus during California wildfire season | The Sacramento Bee
CALIFORNIA
Begin quote from:https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article254212493.html
California’s poor air quality from wildfire smoke raises COVID-19 risk. Here’s why
Natomas resident Alice Montes, a senior legislative aid at the state Capitol, started experiencing chest pain and coughing spells two weeks ago, making it difficult for her to get work done. So like many people during the pandemic, she thought it was COVID-19 and rushed to get tested at her job.
But when Montes tested negative for the virus, she realized she was experiencing wildfire smoke symptoms from the Caldor Fire. After being out of work for a couple of days and then housebound for a week, she now double-masks at work — not out of fear for the coronavirus, but for the many minute particles brought to the region by wildfires.
“I’m not typically one that gets sick often so my employer asked if I can get tested just to be sure because of the breathing problems and I did, I tested negative,” Montes said. “I called my doctor and was, like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on.’ I didn’t feel good and all of a sudden the fires are picking up more, and the air quality is so bad.”
As Sacramento and California continue to experience a longer and more pronounced wildfire season, regional air quality is suffering.
The smoke, which wafts hundreds of miles to the Valley floor depending on the wind, can irritate the lungs, cause inflammation and affect the immune system, making it seem like COVID-19. But, what’s worse: The smoke makes lungs susceptible to more infections including SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
One lesson learned from 2020’s record-setting wildfire season is clear, experts say: Smoke is linked to an increase in positive COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths.
COVID EXPOSURE LINKED TO WILDFIRE SMOKE
Last year, smoke from California’s wildfire season contributed to an increase of 4,639 COVID-19 cases and an increase of 109 COVID-19-related deaths, according to a 2020 Harvard study. It’s not known how this year’s wildfire season will affect the number of COVID-19 cases, especially with the deadlier and more contagious delta variant.
“I have patients who are coming from El Dorado County ... they have all kinds of breathing problems and they’re like ‘I don’t know, a friend of a friend had COVID, I just want to get checked.’ And some of them, unfortunately, are coming up positive,’” said Dr. Eric Tepper, a physician in private practice in East Sacramento.
Tepper has experienced a 30% uptick of concerned patients with wildfire smoke symptoms that overlap with traditional COVID-19 symptom indicators. As a result, he has seen an increase of patients requesting to be tested and has diagnosed an increase of positive cases within the past three weeks.
Wildfire smoke contains thousands of different compounds, but one of the most dangerous is PM2.5, particulate matter of soot, ash and chemicals measuring 2.5 microns or less. PM2.5, which is 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, is really dangerous because it can get through the trachea and embed into the lung tissue, according to Chris Easter, the director of air quality and noise in Northern California at Environmental Science Associates.
As fall approaches, Easter warns that the region has yet to see the most intense part of wildfire season. He recommends remaining vigilant of the air quality and wearing either an N95 or KN95 mask, which are proven to filter out PM2.5 and provide greater protection against COVID-19.
“We’ve had another challenging year,” Easter said. “The Caldor Fire in the Lake Tahoe Basin and the Dixie Fire ... have wreaked havoc really in those communities but have also severely degradated our air.”
Smoke from the fires, light winds and continued warmth are likely to persist in the region.
“Until we get a good storm event and I don’t mean just a light rain I mean a good solid quarter of an inch or more storm event, we will have these fires that will persist, and we may even have some more fires to deal with and that’s just the reality of it,” Easter said.
VACCINATION, MASKS AND PATIENCE
As wildfire smoke persists, causing people to cough and unintentionally spread the virus, Tepper said he’s urging his patients to get vaccinated — especially in the case of an evacuation.
“You may be staying in a gymnasium at a high school with 300 of your closest friends packed in like sardines because that’s the only place you have and now also your risk of COVID goes up greatly,” Tepper said. “Social distancing doesn’t work in a disaster.”
Sacramento’s air quality continues to be unhealthy for sensitive groups as particle levels continue to rise, according to AirNow, home of the EPA’s Air Quality Index. So health experts say it’s vital to be vaccinated, mask up and remain aware of your community’s air quality to decrease future health scares like Montes’.
“I was just tired, I was super fatigued because my lungs were overworking themselves,” Montes said. “I was coughing and the fact that I didn’t have a fever or any other symptoms was kind of making me feel better but still you never know.”
The CDC has compiled a list on how to remain safe from and recognize the effects of wildfire smoke during a pandemic; among their recommendations:
▪ Use an air purifier in one or more rooms within the home. Air purifiers work best when run continuously with doors and windows closed.
▪ Avoid activities that create more indoor air pollution including frying foods, sweeping, vacuuming and using gas-powered appliances.
▪ Know the difference between symptoms from smoke and COVID-19: A dry cough, sore throat and difficulty breathing can be caused by both. Symptoms like fever or chills, muscle or body aches and diarrhea are signs of COVID-19.
▪ The face-covering you wear matters: Cloth masks, that have become widely popular throughout the pandemic, do not protect you from smoke. N95 and KN95 respirators protect you from smoke and COVID-19. The mask should have a tight seal to the face.
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