Coronavirus/COVID-19 Update: April 20th

You can read our previous newsletters here.

View in Browser

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

As frustration mounts and as we grow more and more stir crazy, it is important to remember that we are all working together and trying to reopen.  To be able to reopen, we need to continue Stay Home, Save Lives until we have the case reductions, and preparation we need to open safely. It takes hard work and solidarity within our communities and across our state to be able to meet our goals, and rebuild an economy that will work for all of us.  We are in this together and we will get through this together.  

Don't throw shade
what it takes to reopen

New Developments

  • Unemployment Update: Did you or someone you know receive an error or “restart” message from the Oregon Employment department while filing a new or weekly claim over the weekend? This issue has been fixed, and if you experienced the restart claim error, you should be able to try again and successfully file your claim online now. Sunday alone, nearly 100,000 Oregonians successfully filed initial or weekly claims for benefits. That record level of online claim processing, paired with other weekend system maintenance, is what caused the restart claim issue we saw last weekend to happen again. OED continues working hard to improve their systems, while also getting new benefit programs up and running. The Employment Department has been and will continue to post information about any claim issues and new updates on the Employment Department’s COVID-19 page
  • Governor Brown’s Executive Orders:
    • Garnishment: In order to protect the federal CARES-Act payments going to Oregonians, the Governor has ordered that CARES payments cannot be garnished by private debt collectors.  This is meant to keep these dollars in the hands of Oregonians who need them for food, housing, utilities and other essentials. If you have a criminal or civil judgement against you, your CARES-Act payment may still be subject to garnishment.  You can read the full text of the order here.
    • Higher Education: The Governor extended her order prohibiting in-person instruction at our colleges and universities to June 13th.  You can read the full text of her order here
  • Emergency Board Update: Speaker Kotek and President Courtney have been hard at work over the last few weeks, developing a plan for the next stage of relief for Oregonians.  My colleagues and I on the Emergency Board will meet this month to consider urgent issues like housing, small business relief, domestic violence, and helping workers who don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.  Exact amounts and other details are still being considered. You can read OPB’s story on the relief work here.
  • OHSU hotline: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) has created a Coronavirus Hotline, which you can reach by calling 833-OHSU-CCC (833-647-8222), if you have questions about symptoms or care. The hotline will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. All online resources at OHSU related to coronavirus can be found here.
  • National Numbers: 
  • Oregon Status Report:  Oregon has 47 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Oregon, bringing our total number of confirmed cases to 1,956.  Tragically we have also had one more Oregonians die from Coronavirus, bringing the cumulative death toll to 75. Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 408 confirmed cases.  You can read more details about today's numbers here (note this directs you to a PDF of Oregon’s case counts and other data as of 4/20/2020).  You can read on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.  
Sit Stat 4/20

Resources in American Sign Language

Ruth McEwan, chair of the Oregon Commission on Senior Services, shared these resources with my office.  You can now find COVID-19 resources in American Sign Language on YouTube! Thank you for sharing these Ruth!

CDC-ASL video

Click on this image to view the full playlist of CDC's ASL resources


Resources for Adults in Custody

If you have family or friends in custody, they may be experiencing more social isolation and emotional difficulty than ever.  Below you will find some resources for incarcerated individuals in need of support, and resources for reporting health and safety issues in correctional facilities. 

*Please note: for all clemency, medical release and early release application, the Governor will be reviewing those claims using her existing guidelines and criteria.  


Additional Resources

Employers and Employees

The following list of resources is from Oregon’s Secretary of State’s Office. The fastest way to get in touch with the SOS team is by emailing business.sos@oregon.gov, using the “Need Help?” button found on most state agency websites or visiting www.oregon.gov/smallbusiness.

Education Links

Local Government

Utilities Assistance

Food and Housing Assistance


Governor

Emergency

Oregon Health Authority

CDC

View Past Updates, Share and Subscribe: 

If there was COVID-related information in a past newsletter that you want to go back to, but find you’ve deleted it, you can always go to my legislative website (http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. You can also share this site with your friends and loved ones, so they can view past newsletters, and subscribe to future updates.  

Susan at Home

My new normal: working from home, online meetings, working with staff remotely, and lots of calls with folks around the district! I try to get outside for short breaks to enjoy the sun and stay healthy.

Yours truly,

Representative Susan McLain

Representative Susan McLain
House District 29

email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain