May 18th COVID-19 Update

Michael Dembrow

May 18, 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.

As expected, after yesterday’s stunningly good numbers, we’ve returned more or less to the COVID numbers we’ve been seeing for the last couple of weeks.  Obviously, every infection, hospitalization, and of course death is another potential heartache and terrible loss, and the fewer the better.  But these more normal numbers are not a bad place to be if we can maintain them in the midst of the gradual reopening.

Maintaining that effort received a potential challenge today with a court decision from a judge in Baker County that puts a temporary injunction on all of the Governor’s executive orders. You can read about the decision and its reasoning below.  The decision is of course being appealed to the state supreme court and will be stayed while the court hears arguments.  Interesting times.

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA has reported that 62 additional Oregonians tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, putting the total at 3,604.
  • Total Tests: The total number of tests in Oregon now stands at 97,232. That’s an increase of 2,957 tests, another large increase.
  • Ratio: The percentage of positive results for today is 2.1%. Today’s national percentage is 5.9%.  See below for a graph showing Oregon’s daily percentage changes over the last 14 days.
  • Deaths: I’m afraid that I must now report 1 additional death due to the coronavirus.  The total number of deaths in Oregon is now at 138.  
  • Hospitalized: The number of Oregonians who have been hospitalized with symptoms, and who have also tested positive for the disease, increased by 5, and is now at 708.
  • 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 2, with the total at 83.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 137 (a reduction of 19 from yesterday). Of those, 52 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 250 (an increase of 5 from yesterday).
    • Other Available Beds: 1,939 (a reduction of 22 from yesterday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 43 (6 more than yesterday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 13 (3 fewer than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 794 (6 fewer than yesterday).
  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • PPE:
  • Other Brief Updates:
    • OSU has just reported on the outcomes of Week 2 of its trace research study, which is randomly testing Corvallis residents for the presence of the virus.  The first weekend suggested that two persons per 1000 Corvallis residents was infected.  The second weekend’s findings were a lower 1 per 1000.  The press release goes into detail about the findings.
    • OHA reported today that with increased testing capacity, they are working out the final details of a broad testing effort for everyone living or working in a congregate-care in which there has been a COVID case. We should see this testing begin imminently.
    • Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill announced the beginning of a social media campaign called “We Need to Know,” urging people (particularly Asian Americans) who find themselves to be the objects of hate crimes related to the coronavirus to report those incidents. The Oregonian has a story about it.

Baker County Judge Rules that Governor Has Exceeded Her Authorities

Baker County Judge Matthew Shirtcliff has issued a preliminary injunction against all of the Governor’s COVID executive orders.  His ruling was prompted by a lawsuit brought by several churches around the state challenging the constitutionality of limiting the number of worshippers who can attend a church service at any one time during the health emergency.  He based his decision on a determination that the state of emergency should have expired after 28 days without the Legislature’s approval to extend it. You can read his decision here.  In his ruling, Judge Shirtcliff found that Governor Brown erred in declaring the state of emergency under ORS 401.165.  Interestingly, the Judge rejected the primary argument of the plaintiffs that she should have chosen to declare the emergency under Article X-A of the Constitution.  Instead, he believes that she should have used a third route, ORS 433.442 through 433.452, which specifically addresses public health emergencies and requires the declaration to be renewed every 14 days.  Governor Brown chose the broader State of Emergency route under 401.165, which, as the Judge recognizes, includes those narrower authorities within it. The route that she chose gives her more flexibility as to timelines. 

Attorney-General Ellen Rosenblum immediately issued a statement announcing that she will appeal the injunction to the Oregon Supreme Court for review:

“With all respect, I believe the trial court’s grant of a preliminary injunction is legally incorrect. We will argue that the judge erred in his construction of the relevant statutes and that he abused his discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction. We will also be asking for an immediate stay of his order.

“I urge Oregonians to continue to comply with the measures in place. They are there to protect all of us, and they are working. We are in close contact with the Governor and intend to support, as allowed by law, the critical work she has done, guided by public health experts, to ensure the safety and health of all Oregonians.”

The Governor herself has also appealed the decision.  Late today, the Governor announced that the supreme court has paused the injunction, allowing the executive orders to remain in force while the Supreme Court considers whether or not the injunction should stand.

McDonald’s Announces New Nationwide Guidelines for Its Restaurants

With many states (including parts of our own) starting to allow restaurants to be reopened for dining, McDonald’s has created a set of national standards for all of its restaurants, including those owned by franchisees, to follow.  It includes requirements around sanitation and spacing, face coverings, pickup of food, and play areas (they’ll remain off-limits for now).  Here is an email notification that came to legislators like me, and here is a graphic that captures key requirements.

Additional Graphs:

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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,

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Senator Michael Dembrow
District 23

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email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
web: www.senatordembrow.com
phone: 503-986-1723
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301