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May 16, 2020
Dear Neighbors and Friends:
I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends.
Today I’m happy to report that for the second day in a row we have no deaths from COVID-19. I wish that I could say that no loved ones left us today, but I cannot. Though it was not connected to COVID, my dear friend and colleague Representative Mitch Greenlick passed away at his home in Northwest Portland last night. He had been battling a serious medical condition for quite some time.
Mitch had a remarkable life, full of accomplishments long before he chose to run for the Legislature at an age when most normal people begin their retirements. He made significant contributions through his research work at Kaiser and OHSU, and then went on to shape the future of Oregon’s healthcare reform as a legislator. I can safely say that his was the biggest brain in the Legislature, but it was combined with a big heart and a big soul. He was a real mentor to me. He was the first legislator to support my own decision to run for office in 2007, and I was privileged to be on the Healthcare Committee with him in my first term, the term in which we passed HB 2009, the big healthcare reform package.
Even when his health was giving him enormous challenges, Mitch was determined to keep working and making a difference as long as he possibly could. I of course haven’t seen him in person for more than two months, but I have been able to hear his voice nearly every day during our daily conference calls with the Oregon Health Authority, as recently as the day before his passing. Though his speech was slurred as a result of his illness, his comments and questions were as sharp, insightful, and knowledgeable as ever. He remained our beacon for the journey through this latest healthcare challenge up until the very end.
The last time I was with Mitch in person was on the House floor towards the end of the February session. I went over to let him know that we had the votes in the Senate to pass the “Hope Amendment,” his signature effort to send the voters a constitutional amendment declaring Healthcare as a Human Right. I will always carry with me the image of Mitch’s huge smile that morning when he heard the news, his dear and amazing wife Harriett at his side (as she always has been), a smile that cut suddenly through the gloom of his physical difficulties. Tragically, the Hope Amendment did not move forward in the end because of the lack of a quorum to vote out any bills that session. But I’m convinced that it and everything else that Mitch accomplished and inspired will continue to live and bear fruit in the months and years to come.
Sorry for the length of this tribute to a remarkable man. Thanks for indulging me in this moment of sorrow.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
- Positive Cases: OHA has reported that 64 additional Oregonians tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, putting the total at 3,534.
- Total Tests: The total number of tests in Oregon now stands at 92,121. That’s an increase of 2,677 tests, another large increase.
- Ratio: The percentage of positive results for today is 2.4%. Today’s national percentage is 6.9%. See below for a graph showing Oregon’s daily percentage changes over the last 14 days.
- Deaths: I’m happy to report 0 additional deaths due to the virus, for the second day in a row. The total number of deaths in Oregon remains at 137.
- Hospitalized: The number of Oregonians who have been hospitalized with symptoms, and who have also tested positive for the disease, increased by 8, and is now at 699.
- Presumptive Cases: OHA is now including “presumptive COVID-19 cases” in its daily reports, consistent with recently amended guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A presumptive case is someone who does not yet have a positive PCR test result but is showing symptoms and has had close contact with a confirmed case. If they later test positive by PCR, those will be recategorized as confirmed cases. Today the number of new presumptive cases is 7, with the total at 78.
- Other Hospital Information:
- Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 153 (a decrease of 8 from yesterday). Of those, 56 have already received a positive test back.
- Available ICU Beds: 204 (an increase of 6 from yesterday).
- Other Available Beds: 1,645 (an increase of 17 from yesterday).
- ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 48 (an increase of 2 from yesterday).
- COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 16 (2 fewer than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 791 (same as yesterday).
- Today’s National Numbers:
- PPE:
- In the last 24 hours the Emergency Coordination Center has received 29,900 additional face masks.
What’s Going On In the Counties?
As I promised last week, I’m going to be helping you track how individual counties are doing now that most are beginning Phase One and we are seeing a number of relaxations statewide as well. The key metric that OHA will be watching is the percentage of positive test results: that’s an important way for us to see how if the infection rate is increasing as a result of reopening. As you’ll see, nearly every county is currently moving in the right direction.
Remember, though, that we’re not going to see the effects of reopening right away. That’s why a county must remain in Phase One for at least three weeks before being authorized to move to Phase Two.
 *I should point out that numbers for Coos County include those for the adults in custody and staff at Shutter Creek Correctional Institution, which has unfortunately been a “hotspot” for COVID. SCCI is responsible for 27 positive test results in that county.
Counties in boldface are those not yet authorized for Phase One.
Weekly Modeling Report
We’ve just received our weekly report from the Institute for Disease Modeling, which the OHA has been using to monitor the effects of the policy decisions that the state has made. It is based on May 13 data.
There isn’t much different from the last report. They still believe that the restrictions that were put in place in March enabled us to reduce the number of infections by 70%, thereby avoiding a significant amount of medical harm. With the increase in testing that we’ve seen, the number of infections not revealed by testing has come down somewhat. It is now a multiple of 3. Thus, the roughly 3200 positive test results suggest an overall number of Oregonians infected so far at 10,000. That is still a 70% reduction from what it would have been without our physical distancing measures.
They do observe that the number of new cases is holding steady, rather than declining.
They anticipate that the steps that are envisioned in the Reopening Oregon plan—assuming that they include vigorous testing, tracing, and isolating—will still allow us to keep the infection avoidance rate in the 50-60% range. The infection and hospitalization rates will rise, but if contact tracing, tracking, and isolation are seriously managed, they should be manageable.
This should be our last report for the next two weeks. IDM wants to give the reopening some time to show possible effects before doing their next analysis.
Additional Graphs:
 Want to See Past Newsletters?
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 (www.senatordembrow.com), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. Also, if someone forwarded you this newsletter and you’d like to get it directly, you can sign up for it there.
AND FINALLY,
Here again are some resources that you will find useful:
If the above links are not providing you with answers to your questions or directing you to the help that you need, please consider me and my office to be a resource. We’ll do our best to assist you or steer you in the right direction.
Best,
 Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23
email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-986-1723
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
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