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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Oregon received new weekly data from the Institute of Disease Modeling (IDM) that continues to provide good news, along with some important reminders of why public health data shows we need to go through this process as carefully as possible.
First, the good news. Modeling continues to show that your efforts to follow Stay Home, Save Lives is working. Here is a key part of the latest IDM report, followed by graphs highlighting the progress we’ve made: “The aggressive interventions (‘Stay Home, Save Lives’) have been effective in dramatically reducing transmission rates.”
As conversations continue to take place about reopening Oregon, it’s important to also remember that IDM predicts that there have been approximately 9,200 cumulative infections in Oregon, of which 2,300 had been diagnosed by April 23rd. The report notes that relatively small increases in transmission levels in the community could cause an increase in infections. These transmission levels are very sensitive to changes in public policy.
According to IDM, “simulations suggest that the future outcomes remain very sensitive to policy changes and public adherence to physical distancing guidelines. Indeed, our projections suggest that interventions with a 60% reduction in transmission would lead to a growth in cases in Oregon, with about 200 more new infections per day by June 4th.”
The report recommends that we will need to take a gradual approach to easing out of the Stay Home, Save Lives directive to avoid a large increase in infections. This is consistent with the approach Governor Brown and her team have been putting together. We will hear more about this from the Governor tomorrow morning.
With tomorrow being the first of the month, I know there’s increased stress for people who are worried about paying their rent or mortgage. The moratorium on evictions declared by Governor Brown is still in place. The Legislature has not yet convened a special session, so no state action has been taken to delay foreclosures, although homeowners with federally-backed home loans have some protections. For more information on mortgage protections, go here.
The legislative Emergency Board allocated $8.5 million in emergency funds last week for rental assistance statewide. While the application process for that funding is still a few days away from being ready, the community groups who normally do rental assistance will be the place to go, and you can find out information about them by calling 211.
In the meantime, I want to thank the Oregon Law Center for putting together this helpful video with reminders on what housing protections are currently in place during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Governor Brown will hold a press conference tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to announce her COVID-19 testing and contact tracing plans for reopening Oregon. I covered contact tracing in yesterday’s newsletter, which can be found here. You can go here to see the announcement tomorrow.
- The Oregon Health Authority announced 64 new diagnosed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 2,510. As previously stated, IDM estimates there have been approximately 9,200 cumulative infections in Oregon. Sadly, two more individuals have passed away, meaning there have been 103 deaths in Oregon from the coronavirus.
Frontline Foods PDX is part of national volunteer effort to provide restaurant meals to frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic, with the goal of helping those in need and supporting local businesses. More information on this organization and how you can help here.
Yesterday, I noted new data from the Oregon Health Authority about underlying conditions in individuals who have died after contracting the coronavirus. Among the highlights were that nearly 6 in 10 individuals who have died in Oregon from COVID-19 had an existing heart condition.
OHA has provided the following guidance for people with heart conditions to follow during this pandemic and why heart conditions put people at a greater risk:
I’ve spent a lot of time in this daily newsletter speaking about options for people who need access to food and for seniors in need of additional services. While Meals on Wheels is still operating and can always use additional resources and volunteers, I also wanted to alert you to the “Meds on Wheels” program operating in Portland.
Portland Fire & Rescue is partnering with Multnomah County Aging, Disability and Veterans Services to ensure safe delivery of medication to people in Portland who are 65 or older who have a prescription for vital medication.
If you or someone you know might qualify for the assistance provided by Meds on Wheels, please call 971-288-7687.
KOIN, the local Portland TV station, produced a report on the service below.
Oregon’s health care systems are now collaborating to manage a 6,000-bed statewide network, something that’s really helpful in a pandemic when we need to manage and maintain hospital capacity. The new initiative, enabled by GE Healthcare technology in partnership with Oregon Health & Science University’s Mission Control program, allows health systems to see and react to hospital capacity statewide rather than attempting to manage the surge on a piecemeal hospital-by-hospital approach.
The COVID Capacity Center actively monitors real-time hospital data to inform patient intake and care. The center now includes 90% of all hospital beds statewide. For more information on this innovative approach, click here.
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 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
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