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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It remains vitally important that we each continue to do our part to protect ourselves and others from this virus. We need to continue to fine tune our personal practices of hygiene and community care. Continue to limit trips to only essential visits to pharmacies and grocery stores and use delivery and curbside pick up whenever possible. Please, please, please, wear masks whenever you are in proximity to people outside your household. We all need to keep operating and making choices as if we are carriers of the virus. Protect others by wearing masks and washing hands and surfaces often, and encourage others to do the same to protect you.
Whether we live in The Metro area, The Willamette Valley, The Gorge, The Coast, or East of The Cascades: We're in this together and we'll get through this together.
- The Small Business Administration has agreed to make loans through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program available to agricultural businesses. The program offers loans up to $2 million to qualifying small businesses that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Applications are available here and eligible businesses who need this relief are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, given the high demand.
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County-by-County Reopening: Governor Brown has begun working with some rural counties to discuss reopening if they meet certain prerequisites. The first counties to reopen will be those with very few or zero cases, and who can show that they have the capacity to test, trace, treat and isolate as we move forward and more cases occur. The earliest any of these counties could reopen is May 15th, and there is no timeline for the Metro Area yet. You can read the full draft of the county reopening plan here. And a Willamette Week Article on county reopening here. The Governor will hold a press conference to discuss her plans tomorrow, Thursday May 7th at 11am, you can watch the live stream here.
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Zip Code and Recovery Data: OHA is now publishing recovery data and case data by zip code in their weekly reports. You can view this week’s report here. You can also check out an interactive map published by the Oregonian here.
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Oregon’s new CAT Tax will not apply to Federal Coronavirus Loans, read more here
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Businesses owned by people of color, and particularly black owned businesses have received little to no aid through this crisis. You can read more about these disparities in aid in this CBS Article, and on OPB. This lack of aid is exacerbating already existing disparities.
Yesterday, Governor Brown announced that some state parks will reopen. An executive order will be coming soon allowing ski resorts to reopen. Her full release is available here and The Oregonian has additional details here. There is not a comprehensive list of all parks and other recreation areas that are reopening at this point, but I will provide more information when it’s available.
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) has a list of the small number of inland state parks that will reopen here, along with more details. Columbia River Gorge parks and recreation areas, along with coastal areas, will remain closed for now.
As a reminder, playgrounds and public play structures remain closed. Local park restrictions are set by cities and local park districts.
The Governor and the Oregon Health Authority have these tips when planning to utilize these outdoor areas:
Prepare before you go:
- Limit your recreation activities, and recreate only with people in your own household.
- Check what’s open before leaving home. Your favorite trail or camp site may remain closed, or need to be closed on a temporary basis, to prevent crowding and protect public health.
- Plan ahead and come prepared as service levels may be different than you are accustomed to.
- Visitors may find limited restroom services available. Plan to bring your own soap, water, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper.
- Bring a mask to cover your nose and mouth. Visit less crowded areas, visit during off-peak times, and have a back-up plan.
- Not feeling well? Don’t go. If you have symptoms of a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, stay home.
Take care when you get there:
- Be safe and responsible by choosing activities within your comfort zone.
- Leave no trace, and pack out what you pack in.
- Maintain your own personal hygiene like washing your hands often, bringing your own water, hand sanitizer, soap, and toilet paper.
- Avoid crowds. Be prepared for last minute changes to ensure the safety and health of others.
- All of the standard ways to protect public health apply in the outdoors too, like maintaining physical distance.
- Keep at least 6 feet between you and other Oregonians enjoying the outdoors. Launch one boat at a time to ensure other Oregonians have enough space to launch safely and securely.
- Leave at least one parking space between your vehicle and the vehicle next to you.
It is wildfire season. Please remain safe and vigilant to ensure forest health and safety. Do not start fires in undesignated areas. Check if your campground or park allows outdoor fires before you strike a match. If permitted, make sure you are building a campfire properly and that you have water or an extinguisher on hand. Before you leave, ensure the campfire is out. If it's too hot to touch, it's too hot to leave.
Oregon State Parks, link to article from My Oregon News Article on reopening of state parks
- National Numbers:
- Confirmed Cases: 1,193,813 (up 22,303 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 70,802 (up 2,523 from yesterday)
- These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
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Oregon Status Report: Oregon has 70 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing our total number of confirmed cases to 2,887. OHA is now reporting data about new presumptive cases, which means people presenting with COVID-19 like symptoms and who have had contact with a confirmed case, but who have not had a positive test result. Since yesterday, there have been 7 new presumptive cases, bringing the cumulative total of cases (tested and presumed positives) to 2,916. Tragically we have had a total of 115 Oregonians die from COVID-19. Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 537 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 5/6/2020). You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
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This table breaks down case counts and other information about COVID-19 cases in Oregon, click on the image to be directed to the OHA site for more information
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Hospital Capacity: As you can see from the table below, Oregon is doing well in terms of our hospital capacity, with adequate ICU beds, non-ICU beds, and ventilators to meet the current need.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced a state-federal partnership to protect Oregonians from fraud related to COVID-19.
In particular, the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney encourage Oregonians to be on the lookout for:
- Testing scams — someone trying to sell you an unauthorized coronavirus cure, vaccine, or testing kit or going door-to-door performing fake tests for money;
- Charity scams — someone soliciting donations for individuals or areas affected by coronavirus or charities purportedly working on behalf of coronavirus victims;
- Price gouging scams — businesses marking up the price of essential consumer goods and selling them at higher prices than what the goods would normally be sold for; and
- Identity scams — people pretending to be a government official asking you for personal identifying information, access to your bank or unemployment insurance account, or offering to help you access government benefits faster, including economic impact payments.
If you or someone you know have been the victim of a COVID-related scam or any other COVID-related fraud, please contact the Oregon Department of Justice at 1-877-877-9392, or online at www.OregonConsumer.Gov. If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, please call 911.
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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.
We are really finding our stride in our new normal of tele-work! Constantly improving in my technological skills, and finding new ways to connect with friends, family and community. We all have to do our part, protect our community, and create communities of care!
Yours truly,
 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
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