Coronavirus Update: Emergency Board and New Medical Guidelines

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Emergency Board and New Medical Guidelines

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Today, Oregon legislators took strategic and necessary steps to help Oregonians and our state government respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The Joint Emergency Board met and allocated more than $30 million in emergency funding to support Oregonians in need of relief due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

Here are highlights of the state funds the legislative committee appropriated:

  • Safe Shelter and Rent Assistance - $12 million
    • $3.5 million for safe shelter/social distancing alternatives for vulnerable populations, such as individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness and farmworkers.
    • $8.5 million for rent assistance for individuals who have lost income due to the pandemic.
  • Small Business Assistance - $10 million*
    • Grants or loans through community lenders for small businesses with no more than 25 employees that are impacted by the pandemic restrictions and have not received support from the federal CARES Act. *The $10 million is made up of $5 million from the Emergency Fund matched with $5 million from existing funds in the Oregon Business Development Department.
  • Oregon Worker Relief Fund - $10 million
    • Community-based wage assistance program for laid off workers who do not qualify for unemployment benefits due to immigration status or other factors.
  • Domestic Violence Housing Support - $2 million
    • Emergency housing for victims of domestic and sexual violence.
  • Long-Term Care Worker Training and Testing - $3.35 million
    • Coronavirus training and testing resources for workers serving very vulnerable Oregonians. This allocation may be replaced by federal response dollars.

The limited funds available to the Emergency Board will complement the federal relief assistance coming to our state. I know workers, families and small businesses across the state are hurting, and it’s important that lawmakers do all we can to keep Oregonians from falling through the cracks amid the day-to-day uncertainty and fear this pandemic is causing.

The Statesman Journal has a more extensive writeup about the meeting here. You can watch the full meeting here and read about each measure the committee considered in more depth here.

As we move forward in addressing the fallout of this pandemic, it will be critically important to ensure our approach does not repeat mistakes from the Great Recession. We can’t leave people behind. We have to work towards a recovery that is equitable and lifts up as many people as possible.


New Guidelines on Non-Emergency Procedures

Governor Brown announced today that she is conditionally lifting her order that has prohibited health care providers from doing non-urgent procedures. Providers can resume services as long as they can demonstrate they have met new requirements for COVID-19 safety and preparedness. Hospitals, surgical centers, medical offices, and dental offices that meet those requirements will be able to resume non-urgent procedures on May 1.

Medical providers will need to demonstrate they have the ability to:

  • Minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission to patients and health care workers.
  • Maintain adequate hospital capacity in the event of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
  • Support the health care workforce in safely resuming activities.

Under the guidelines, medical providers must also demonstrate that they have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers. Hospitals must continue to report PPE supply levels daily to the Oregon Health Authority, and they must also demonstrate adequate coronavirus testing capacity when needed, including the ability to screen patients before non-urgent procedures.

You can read the Governor’s full release here.


Unemployment Insurance for Non-Traditional Workers

We have encouraging news for workers who can apply for unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) created under the federal CARES Act. This means self-employed, independent contractors, and gig workers have help on the horizon.

The Oregon Employment Department plans to begin processing jobless claims for workers not eligible for traditional unemployment by the end of April. My office has been pressing for progress on PUA, so this is welcome news.

If this effects you, the best thing to do right now is organize your income documents (tax filings) so you know how much NET income you had last year.

There will be a lag between the start of applications and when benefits will start going out. But the department has been clear that all claims will be calculated retroactively, so in spite of the delay, all Oregonians should be made whole for the claims they are owed. The department will also publish a video soon to guide workers through the application process, which I will post in a future newsletter when available.

For regular Oregon Employment Department updates, you can go to their coronavirus website here.


The Latest News

  • The U.S. House of Representatives, following the U.S. Senate earlier this week, passed a $484 billion bill to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and another loan program to support small businesses, get more money to hospitals and health care providers, and expand coronavirus testing. The bill is now on to the President.
  • U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that Oregon’s tribal communities will receive over $430,000 to support the needs of elders in an effort to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The awards, which will fund meal delivery and supportive services for Native American elders, are being distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information is available here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority announced there have been 68 more diagnosed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 2,127. Sadly, five more deaths have been reported, meaning 83 people in Oregon have died from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 4-23-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 4-23-2020

It’s Working and It’s Supported!

In the one month since Governor Brown’s Stay Home, Save Lives order, researchers have estimated that Oregonians have prevented as many as 70,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,500 hospitalizations. Thank you again for all you have done to save lives! We’re on the right path and we need to stay strong.

A new poll shows that Oregonians strongly support staying at home and protecting each other. You can read more about it here.


National Guard Delivers PPE

The Oregon National Guard continues to distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to assisted living facilities across the state. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) posted this video of some of those deliveries:

PPE Delivery 4-23-2020

The state also updated figures on how much PPE they have received:

PPE Received Graphic 4-23-2020

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time and energy to donate PPE! There is still a tremendous need for equipment to protect our frontline workers, so if you want to help, please visit http://oregonrecovers.communityos.org or call the Volunteers & Donations Call Center at 503-378-4479.


To read past newsletters, you can go to this link. For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx

Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.

Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.

Best,

Tina

Tina Kotek

State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House

email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek