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March 24, 2020
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends. I wrote this newsletter yesterday (Monday) evening, so the information is current as of then. I will likely have another update for you at the end of today.
The big news yesterday was the release of the Governor’s new executive order that is in line with our medical community’s request that government take stronger steps to reduce physical interactions immediately in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus. It is indeed strong, strong enough to keep Portland, Multnomah County, and other local governments from going their own way for now.
There will be some who believe it should be stronger. There will be others, particularly in the more remote parts of the state, who will find it an unnecessary intrusion. It definitely will create discomfort, economic hardship, and pain. But if we can reduce the onslaught of people heading into our hospitals in two or three weeks, it will have been worth it.
I heard a sobering fact yesterday afternoon from the head of OHA. OHA reported thirty new confirmed cases of the virus Monday. Because of the lag in testing time, those people were likely tested last Wednesday or Thursday. They may well have been carrying the virus (generally without showing symptoms) for up to two weeks before then. That means that unless they’re been staying at home since March 4th, which they likely have not, these thirty people have been unwittingly infecting others all this time. That’s why it’s important that we individually assume that we might have the virus and act accordingly. It’s why the sooner we act, the better.
MONDAY’S CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
- OHA reported an additional 30 Oregonians have tested positive for COVID-19, putting our total numbers at 191.
- An increasing percentage of emergency room visits are corona-related, but overall emergency room visits are down. There is speculation that this may be due to fewer people getting into accidents as a result of staying closer to home.
- On Sunday the Governor ordered day use at state parks to close as of 5 pm today. She had already ordered overnight camping at state parks to be phased out gradually by April 3; that prohibition was changed to become an immediate prohibition. Unfortunately, many people (including many vacationers from Washington and California) have been congregating in ways that can spread the virus, so this more extreme step was deemed necessary. We have also heard powerful concerns from coastal and rural residents that their hospitals will be overwhelmed if vacationers get sick and need medical attention while they’re there.
- Parking areas and restrooms at state parks will also be closed.
- The Oregon Health Authority has increased its financial support to small rural hospitals to help them keep their staffing intact during the current prohibition on elective procedures and in anticipation of the likely surge in need.
- Intel announced Monday that it is donating 1 million pieces of PPE to protect healthcare workers. This is attire that is otherwise used in its computer chip clean rooms.
New Executive Order on Stay Home Stay Safe
Monday morning Governor Brown announced her long-awaited (well, it seems long-awaited, but it was only a few days ago that we were told it was coming!) Executive Order further clarifying what Oregonians and Oregon businesses need to do to prevent physical transmission of the virus. The core message is that we all stay close to home unless we need to work at essential jobs, get medicine or healthcare materials, or get food. Businesses that require close contact between individuals must close.
In an effort to reduce potential harm to the state economy, some businesses not on the federal list of “essential infrastructure” will be allowed to maintain their operations, at least for now. Businesses that can operate without people needing to get into close proximity can continue as long as they are demonstrating that they are responsibly maintaining social-distance standards. If they can operate in an online or work-at-home manner, they must. If they violate these standards, they will be subject to closure and potentially penalty.
Violation of the order carries with it a potential Class C misdemeanor, though police are not going to be going out of their way to find violators.
Here are a couple of graphics that pretty clearly explain the new Stay Home Save Lives policy:
On Monday several additional states, including Washington, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin adopted similar policies. Here’s a nice graphic that shows WHY states such as Oregon are adopting strong social distancing policies to reduce exposure. It saves lives:
The Overall Response in Oregon
The command structure to deal with the crisis is steadily coming together. As I’ve mentioned, it’s a modification of existing plans that were created and have been tested via simulations to deal with natural catastrophes such as a massive earthquake. Leadership comes from a trio of experts from the Office of Emergency Management, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Governor’s Office.
Legislators are now receiving daily updates from the command team in a document called the “Oregon Covid-19 Situational Status Report.” We see the latest numbers related to the spread of the disease in Oregon. We see the “burn rate” for the state’s stockpile of PPE, which as you know is increasingly alarming. (These numbers don’t include PPE possessed by individual hospitals, medical providers, and others.)
We also see the sector-by-sector response planning (in the sometimes arcane language of incident-response professionals). Some of the work is being directly managed by state agencies, others through the coordinated command team. There are standing task forces on a variety of subjects that bring together professionals from inside and outside of government. They include:
- Hospital Task Force
- Long-Term Care Task Force
- EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Task Force
- Feeding Vulnerable Populations Task Force
- Unemployment Task Force
- Homeless Populations Task Force
- Childcare Task Force
I’ll be sharing more details from the daily briefings with you as they come in. Let me know if you have any questions about the response and the response team, or if you have any issues that you’d like me to direct to them.
Want to Volunteer or Donate? Check Out This Site
Every day I’m hearing from people who want to volunteer their time, or connect the state with potential vendors, or want to donate goods, all in an effort to help us get through this crisis more easily. Different cities and counties have their own clearinghouses for such offers, which is great, but we now also have a statewide website that will be coordinating the response to such offers. It’s maintained by the Oregon Emergency Management Department, and it’s very useful. Take a look: https://oregon-coronavirus-geo.hub.arcgis.com/
Also, I’ve just learned that Portland Public Schools is starting a new effort to help local families get the food they need, an effort to augment what they’re already doing for students on free and reduced lunch. Here’s a message that just came in from PPS:
The Fund for Portland Public Schools, our new 501(c)3 fundraising entity created in 2019 to bring philanthropic resources, is committed to supporting our students and families in this crisis. We have established a Coronavirus Relief Fund to help the most vulnerable in our community. Our aim is to provide $100 in groceries to the 10,000 plus families whose students qualify for free and reduced lunch. Though the school district is providing breakfast and lunch “grab-n-go” meals at 15 sites with USDA funding, we realize that families will struggle to put food on the table.
Online: fundforpps.org/cv19relief or text the word GIVE to 1-844-334-1540.
Joint Task Force Meets Again
The Legislative Joint Task Force on Coronavirus Response met again Monday to continue its discussion of concerns and proposals. Over the weekend, our hard-working legislative staff worked to come up with a very useful discussion document. You’ll see that it includes a number of proposals, grouped by priority (with 1 assigned to those measures seen as requiring the most immediate action. Check it out.
They are meeting again Tuesday morning to finish the discussion and attempt to settle on a short list of recommendations for the special legislative session that will likely take place next week. This first special session will be reserved for actions that absolutely must be taken right now. Others can wait until we have a better understanding of what actions Congress has taken or is likely to take. With respect to that, legislative staff has put together a useful "Crosswalk" chart that connects proposed legislative concepts with federal actions we know about now. Hopefully, within the next day or two we’ll know more about the latest federal action.
Here is the agenda and video link to Tuesday’s meeting.
AND FINALLY,
Here again are some resources that you will find useful:
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
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