March 19 COVID-19 Update

March 19, 2020

Dear Neighbors and Friends:

Hope you and your loved ones are doing well, staying safe, and able to get outside to enjoy this lovely weather.  Kiki and I are hoping to get out for a nice social-distancing bike ride as soon as I finish writing up my report on today’s legislative briefing, so I’m going to keep this intro short today.

Speaking of getting outdoors, I know that many of you are taking advantage of your local parks. That’s great. But I’ve been asked to pass along the message that we still need to try to make sure that we and our kids are maintaining social distancing and not spreading the virus. If kids are sneezing and coughing, they may be spreading the virus onto playground equipment and each other. So please be careful and do what you can to limit exposure.

Hope you’re finding these updates useful, and thanks to those of you who’ve responded with suggestions, questions, concerns, and supportive messages.

TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

• OHA reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the state total to 88, as of 8:30 a.m. today, March 19.
  • The COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Linn (2), Marion (5), Multnomah (4) and Washington (2).
  • OHA reports new cases once a day on its website: healthoregon.org/coronavirus.
• Testing:
  • We are on track to do 1500 tests this week (a 50% increase from last week).
  • 90% of the tests have been done by commercial labs.
  • The World Health Organization has come out with new standards for nasal swabs, which may help with the shortfall in testing materials.
  • Mobile testing is happening at several targeted sites around the state (for example, at the Oregon Veterans Home); not for general drop-in.
• Personal Protective Equipment:
  • On the Personal Protective Equipment front, a team of OPB reporters has done an excellent job of doing a thorough in-depth analysis of where we are, why we are here, how it’s affecting all of health care (not just coronavirus response), and the prognosis moving forward (relatively bleak for now, unfortunately). Read it here.

• I now have precise numbers for the additional supplies Governor Brown requested from the federal government:  400,000 N95 respirators, 400,000 gowns, and 100 ventilators. Of that request, we have received 36,855 N95 Respirators, 13,630 gowns, and zero ventilators. OHA has been told by federal representatives to expect more, about an additional 15% of our original request, but as of today they have no further information.
• For those who are interested, here the priority criteria that the OHA is using to deploy the equipment in the state stockpile.
• The Governor has put out a request to all medical and other companies to donate any new gloves, masks, and gowns that they may have to the central state stockpile.
• Congress is continuing to work on a second and third Corona Response bill, focused on direct financial support for corporations, small businesses, the self-employed, workers, and families. It may also include mortgage and student loan deferral.  But it may take a while for the two chambers and parties come to an agreement. 

• Yesterday I reported on the new temporary 250-bed hospital being assembled at the Salem Fairgrounds. It now has a name: The Oregon Medical Station (OMS).

• It will be staffed by members of the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Oregon (SERV-OR) and the Oregon Disaster Medical Team (ODMT).
• Military members from the Oregon Military Department, SERV-OR and ODMT have previous joint training experience for disaster-type events. All three groups have participated in an annual exercise known as Pathfinder-Minuteman, which presents multiple scenarios where first responders have causalities in need of immediate medical treatment.
• The mobile facility will provide an alternate site for 250 patients currently in nursing home care.
• It will be housed in the Jackson Long building at the Salem Fairgrounds in a state-owned building and will use dedicated supplies that have been stored in Salem at the State and Federal Surplus Property.

• The Public Utilities Commission just granted public utilities the ability to waive late fees during the crisis. Here is information on steps being taken by all of our utilities (electricity, natural gas, internet, telephone) in response to the crisis.
• Following an executive order from the Governor, the Early Learning Division is issuing new rules for childcare centers that will allow for more rapid establishment of emergency childcare centers and some new restrictions to try to control the spread of the virus.  You can find details here.
• Val Hoyle, Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Commissioner, announced yesterday that BOLI has opened emergency rulemaking on the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) to make sure families can take time off while schools are closed without risking their jobs. OFLA may be now be used for school closures by order of a public emergency even if the individual child is not sick. OFLA time is protected but unpaid. Fortunately, states are able to create provisions that are stronger than federal protections, and that’s definitely the case here.
• The Governor announced today that all state campgrounds will be gradually closed over the next few weeks.  Reservations in place between now and April 2 will be honored. The closures will then remain in effect until May 8. Day-use in state parks will still be allowed.
• OHA has issued guidance on shelter spaces, especially with respect to food service.  Find it here.
• OHA has been trying to reach out to all medical providers in the state to make them aware of resources, webinars, and other information sources.  There is now an email address for health care providers to reach out directly to OHA: healthcare.provider@dhsoha.state.or.us. Please share this with any providers that you know.
• If you are interested in seeing the organizational chart for the Coronavirus Response Command Structure, here it is. It builds off of our existing emergency response structure developed for earthquake and other potential emergencies. The City of Portland is preparing plans in case there is a need to create a “Shelter-In-Place” program, which would restrict all non-essential businesses and work. San Francisco and its surroundings are currently under such an order.  However, though planning is being done, no decision has been made about whether or not an ordinance will be proposed.
• For now, there are no state plans for shelter-in-place. Governor Brown made it clear this morning that she is hoping that the current school and restaurant closures and restrictions on gatherings greater than 25, along with voluntary telecommuting and social distancing will suffice to limit the spread of the virus.

Legislative Joint Special Task Force on Coronavirus Response Meets on Friday

The Task Force will be having its second meeting tomorrow (Friday) at 1 pm.  They will be receiving two presentations: one from OHSU on modeling the spread of the coronavirus in Oregon, and one on the unified command structure for emergency response.  They will then begin discussion of proposals for legislative action.

Here is the website for tomorrow’s meeting.  It includes information on how you can submit written testimony to the Task Force. (Testimony will continue to be received up to 5 pm, Tuesday, March 24).  You can read the testimony that is already starting to come in here.

You can see the 300+ pieces of testimony that came in for Wednesday’s meeting here.

Please let me know if you have any difficulty navigating the system or have reactions to the Task Force’s work.

The Challenge of Staying Connected

With social distancing, voluntary (at least for now) shelter-in-place, library closures, school closures, campus closures, limited in-person medical and counseling visits, it’s becoming increasingly obvious how dependent we are and will have to be on virtual communications via email and the internet. 

We’re also being reminded of the challenges of the “Digital Divide,” i.e., between those who have access to computers and decent internet connections and those who don’t.  Fast internet connections remain a challenge for many rural residents. (Ironically, among the budgets that we had hoped to pass in the short session was added investment in rural broadband.)  Lack of computers at home is largely a function of poverty.

Taking steps to close the divide will be one of the strategies that the Legislature will need to look at as we respond to the coronavirus crisis.  To that end, I just received the following request from Free Geek, a Portland nonprofit that does extraordinary work in recycling and rebuilding computers and getting them out to people of limited means at little or no cost:

“Free Geek is requesting your help in receiving emergency funding of $75,000 from the State of Oregon’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund to provide students and displaced workers with the digital access they need to continue school,  and work from home and to access tele-appointments with doctors. These funds will help get over 500 computers directly into the hands of Oregonians.

As you are already aware, Free Geek provides digital access to some of our communities' most vulnerable populations; the same people that are most adversely impacted by the spread of COVID-19. This includes K-12 students and college students, displaced workers, and aging populations.” 

I obviously can’t say at this point whether or not the Legislature can meet this funding request right away.  So, in the meantime, I’d suggest that if you’re able to, think about making a contribution to Free Geek to help them expand access right away. 

Their website is at www.FreeGeek.org.

In addition, a number of internet providers are offering free service to low-income households during the crisis, and some are raising the daily limits on data.  You can find more information about that here.

Small-Business Grants for Portland’s Jade District

Some of the businesses hardest hit by pandemic have been those owned by Asian-Americans in the SE Portland part of my district known as the Jade District.  There are many great restaurants and other businesses there, in what has become a very vibrant cultural hub for our Asian-American community.  Unfortunately, incidents like the pandemic can bring out the worst in people, and the businesses there have been subject to a great deal of suspicion and xenophobia as a result of what some, including our President, have called the “Chinese Virus.”  Despite the fact that there is absolutely no connection between these businesses and exposure to the virus, they saw their sales declining steadily even before the first cases were announced in the U.S.

As a result, the City of Portland is providing $140,000 in direct grants to Jade District and Old Town Chinatown small businesses, with an additional $50,000 coming from the local Jade District community organization itself.  Grant applications are due March 23. The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) is assisting with this project and providing outreach and assistance to businesses who might want to apply. 

You can find out more about the grant program, timelines, and the decision-making criteria here.

Meals On Wheels Goes “No-Contact”

Many of our homebound seniors rely on the good work of organizations like Meals On Wheels to get the nourishment they need. It also provides them with social contact and a chance for those delivering the meals to see that the individual is doing OK.  This important work is obviously now going to be a challenge given the need to maintain physical distance.  Here’s part of a communication that I just received from Meals On Wheels, describing how they’re adjusting to the new reality:

To protect both our homebound seniors and our delivery drivers, we transitioned to a "no contact" meal delivery method. Drivers now hang a bag with meals on the doorknob of each home, ring the bell and then back up six feet. This provides distance between the driver and the homebound senior, but continues to allow for a wellness check. Meal deliveries have also been limited to three days per week with multiple meals provided at each delivery.

It's responsible, creative thinking by valued providers like Meals On Wheels that will help us get through this crisis.

AND FINALLY,

Here again are some resources that you will find useful:

• Here is the OHA’s coronavirus page, with links to a number of resources. 
• You can sign up here for regular coronavirus updates from OHA.
• Multnomah County has an excellent website with lots of really important advice and guidance.
• Here’s one from the Governor’s Office
• The Employment Department has put together a webpage with Q&A’s on a number of employment issues related to COVID-19 (e.g., eligibility for Unemployment Insurance benefits).
• The Oregon Education Department has a new site for COVID-19 updates.

If the above links are not providing you with answers to your questions or directing you to the help that you need, please consider me and my office to be a resource.  We’ll do our best to assist you or steer you in the right direction. 

Best,

Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23

email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-986-1723
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301