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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are wrapping up week four of Oregon’s shutdown, and it looks like the difficult steps we’ve taken together are starting to make a difference. New forecasts show our hospitals are capable of handling patients, with a peak around April 20, but this is predicated on Oregonians continuing to stay home.
But let’s not be complacent. Let’s be safe and continue to stay home as much as possible, wear masks to make grocery runs, and keep an eye out for the needs of others.
Maybe we can also look for silver linings.
With my local gym shut down, I’ve discovered running outside again—and now I’m running with my 12-year-old son. It’s been an unexpected blessing to talk and jog together, something we didn’t do before.
Others are finding some peace in watching spring colors explode or reflecting with relatives.
In the meantime, here are some of the news stories and updates from this past week.
COVID-19 Numbers
- Positive Cases: 1,371
- Total Tests: 27,224
- Currently Hospitalized: 353
- Deaths: 48
Governor Brown Closes Schools Through the End of the School Year
On Wednesday, Governor Brown announced the extension of Oregon’s physical school closures through the end of the school year. She has directed school districts, community colleges, and universities to finish out the final weeks by continuing distance learning and student health and safety support remotely.
The Oregon Department of Education has released guidance to ensure students can stay on track to graduate. You can read ODE’s Graduation Pathways 2020 here. As a summary, it:
- gives students who were already on-track for graduation a passing grade, maintaining Oregon’s high credit requirements,
- directs schools to prioritize their resources to support students who needed additional credits to graduate at the time of closure, who need additional support, or are at-risk and in vulnerable situations, and
- suspends essential skills and personalized learning requirements.
When Does Stay-at-Home End?
We are continuing to see evidence that the statewide effort to stay home as much as possible is keeping COVID-19 hospitalizations to a manageable level. However, lifting restrictions now would continue the disease’s rapid spread from before the stay-at-home order and overwhelm our hospitals. Before we can relax social distancing measures, we will need to know if people who catch COVID-19 develop an immunity to it, and we will need to dramatically increase our testing capacity and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supply. Without these resources, our state will be in no better position to fight the spread of the disease if it reemerges after restrictions are lifted.
I know staying at home is difficult. I know many people are suffering from reduced or lost incomes. But if we don’t hold the line, we risk far worse. We in the legislature will be doing what we can to support Oregonians struggling as a result of these efforts.
Rapid Testing Machines Arrive in Rural Oregon Hospitals
Yesterday, Governor Kate Brown announced that Oregon has distributed its first Abbott ID NOW rapid testing instruments to rural Oregon hospitals, received from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The first hospitals to receive the COVID-19 rapid testing instruments are Curry General Hospital in Curry County, Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Morrow County, and Lake District Hospital in Lake County.
These COVID-19 testing machines are capable of returning positive or negative test results in minutes. The three hospitals will begin validation testing this week, and rapid testing will not be immediately available to the public.
Although Oregon received 15 Abbott ID NOW instruments, the federal government shipped only five boxes of testing kits with the machines, with 24 tests in each box. Until more Abbott test kits are secured, the additional rapid testing machines cannot be distributed to priority areas.
With limited supplies, OHA will distribute Abbott ID NOW resources based on the following criteria:
- Areas of the state with no access to COVID-19 testing.
- Areas of the state with a limited number of first responders.
- Areas of the state where courier services for the state public health lab and commercial labs are limited or unavailable.
- Areas with a high population of older adults and other at-risk groups.
- Areas where hospitals or clinics do not already have access to an Abbott ID NOW instrument.
Unemployment Benefits
I have received a number of questions about how to navigate the unemployment insurance benefits process. First, please know that the Oregon Employment Department has requested that anyone with questions should email OED_COVID19_info@oregon.gov. With record numbers of people filing for unemployment, the current phone system cannot keep up. By emailing, you can help ensure that those who must call can get through to needed support.
Second, OED has updated its COVID-19 page and has useful information and advice for those trying to get benefits. They have also created a flowchart of their current processes.
Helpful Resources
Coronavirus Response Information:
Employment/Business/Consumer Information:
Housing Resources:
- Call 211 or 1-866-698-6155
- Text your zip code to 898211 (TXT211)
- EMAIL: help@211info.org
Food Resources:
Health & Safety Information:
 Senator Mark Hass
Senate District 14
email: Sen.MarkHass@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1714
address: 900 Court St NE, S-207, Salem, OR, 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/hass
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