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March 28, 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.
We had no coronavirus briefings today, so I don’t have too much to report, other than the daily numbers and a few updates on new orders and guidances.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
- OHA has reported that 65 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID-19, another big increase that puts our total numbers at 479.
- The number of test results continues to rise each day. Today’s numbers reflect an increase of 1,248 test results from the day before, bringing the total test results so far to 10,172.
- The number of Oregonians who have been hospitalized with symptoms is now at 117, an increase of 15 from yesterday.
- We are now getting daily reports on the number of Oregonians with symptoms who are currently in hospital. That number for today is 107, an increase of 16 from yesterday.
- The number of deaths in Oregon now stands at 13, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
- We are now getting reports on hospital bed and ventilator availability on a daily basis:
- 283 ICU beds are available statewide (reduction of 77 from yesterday).
- 2,099 non-ICU beds are available statewide (reduction of 195 from yesterday).
- 746 ventilators are available statewide (decrease of 31).
- We are also now getting a new daily statistic:
- COVID-19 Patients On Ventilator: 31, a decrease of 6 from yesterday.
These Are Troubling Numbers
While Oregon’s increases pale beside states such as New York and even Washington, our current rate of increase is troubling. A week ago our number of people hospitalized for coronavirus was 43; today it’s 117. That’s a near tripling of the numbers. The number of Oregon deaths has more than tripled, from 4 to 13. For context, the number of deaths in Washington, which we assume is a couple of weeks ahead of us, has not quite doubled in that same period.
As I’ve mentioned before, our numbers don’t yet include the more serious closures ordered by the Governor last week. If we don’t see the current rate of increase go down, we’re in trouble.
If people are not complying with the order to stay at home as much as possible, we can expect that the rates will not go down, and we will indeed be in trouble.
Please, Stay Home for All but Essential Needs. What you do today will save lives.
To that end, the Governor’s Office has continued to improve and add to her information and resources page. It is full of useful Q&A’s on what you should and should not do to help make a difference.
And again, if you’d like to follow the cumulative daily statists on testing, hospitalization, and deaths here in Oregon, in other states, and nationwide, I’d direct you to the COVID Tracking Project website.
Oregon Law Center Guidance on Evictions
On March 22 the Governor issued Executive Order 20-11, prohibiting evictions for the duration of this crisis. The Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court has also issued orders related to evictions. Many of you may be wondering what exactly this means for tenants.
Here is an explanation from the Oregon Law Center, a great group of hard-working lawyers who “provide legal help to people struggling to make ends meet on matters related to their homes, livelihoods, medical care and physical safety against domestic violence.” You’ll find it useful and helpful.
New Executive Order on Services for Homeless Oregonians
The Governor issued a new order yesterday, Executive Order 20-12, providing guidance to those experiencing homelessness, and to those interacting with people experiencing homelessness—including both law enforcement and service providers.
It should go without saying—though this order makes it clear—that people experiencing homelessness are not in violation of the order to remain at home. However, they are encouraged to seek shelter and access to food and sanitation.
And it also should go without saying that efforts must be dramatically increased throughout the state to increase access to the services that they need.
Self-Service Gas MAY Be Allowed Temporarily in Oregon
We have been hearing concern for the last week or so that gas station owners may not have the workforce needed to keep their stations open, or they will not as the coronavirus spreads and more and more attendants become ill or members of their families do. Some counties are apparently already reporting closures as a result.
In addition, we are also hearing that attendants are finding it difficult to maintain the appropriate social distancing separation when interacting with customers (i.e., taking their money or their credit cards).
As a result, the Office of the State Fire Marshal has issued a new guidance temporarily lifting the state prohibition on self-service gasoline during the emergency.
If you go to purchase gas, you may well have to pump your own gas. As I understand it, attendants will no longer be interacting directly with customers (i.e., taking their money or their credit cards) in order to keep themselves and customers safe, but they may still be pumping the gas. Personally, I think the best solution is to have the customer run their own card and let the attendant pump the gas, thereby limiting the number of different people touching the pump. As I understand it, different stations may implement this differently, and the guidance gives them that flexibility.
If a station does not have the workers needed to staff the pumps because of illness, they can shift to complete self-service without any attendants. In that case, they must be prepared to provide the State with evidence that this is needed because of employee absence.
I checked with the Governor’s office to clarify that a station owner can NOT lay workers off in order to take advantage of this guidance and utilize self-service. That is indeed the case.
I also checked with the Fuels Association to see if hand sanitizers would be available for customers to be able to clean the equipment and their hands before and/or after fueling and was told that the Association will convey that recommendation to station owners. If you’ve been able to find sanitizers yourself, I’d suggest that you have your own supply with you just in case.
Additional Info on Unemployment Insurance
I have heard from a number of constituents who are experiencing delays with their claim in the UI system, inability to get through on the phone line, or problems with the website. As has been widely reported, we are experiencing a dramatic increase in claims right now. More info on that in this press release from Thursday.
The Employment Department is working overdrive right now to expand capacity. Two weeks ago, prior to the sudden surge of claims being filed, Oregon had just over 100 people focused on the initial processing of UI claims. The Department has already more than doubled that by redirecting staff, hiring, creating more workspaces (because at the same time they have to provide safe spaces for staff to work (6-feet, etc)), splitting shifts, getting computers and phones and other necessary infrastructure in place. They continue to train more people to assist with processing claims.
Last week they received 77,000 applications and processed/filed 22,000. Their response rate should improve significantly in the coming days.
Our state system is also incorporating the changes to UI from the federal legislation. This NY Times FAQ has a good rundown on what this means for workers (traditional, self-employed, and contractors) who find themselves out of work due to the pandemic. It also covers questions about the stimulus payments portion of the bill.
The Oregon Employment Department has a website dedicated to COVID-19 resources. They have an FAQ document that is regularly updated, and have set up an email address specifically for COVD-19 questions from workers and employers related to UI: OED_COVID19_Info@oregon.gov
Another Short-Term Financial Resource for Small Businesses (in Portland)
Prosper Portland, Portland’s economic development agency, is giving out $1 million worth of immediate grants and loans between $2,000 and $10,000 to Portland small businesses experiencing COVID-related difficulties. The goal is to get needed relief out there while we’re waiting for the federal dollars to arrive.
The timelines for this assistance are very short:
1. Mon, March 30: Applications open
2. Wed, April 1, 2020: Applications close
3. Tue, April 7: Grant recipients selected
4. Fri, April 10: funding provided
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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