May 21st COVID-19 Update

Michael Dembrow

May 21, 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 we head into the weekend, I want to share with you a press release from the Governor this morning urging Oregonians to stay close to home this Memorial Day Weekend and not overwhelm scenic areas that are working hard to contain the virus.  She was joined in that plea by mayors from the Coast, the Gorge, and other tourist destinations around the stay, specifically the mayors of

  • Cannon Beach
  • Seaside
  • Lincoln City
  • Astoria
  • Florence
  • Newport
  • Tillamook
  • Coos Bay
  • Wheeler
  • Gearhart
  • Bandon
  • Yachats
  • Depoe Bay
  • Garibaldi
  • Warrenton
  • Ashland
  • Klamath Falls
  • Redmond
  • Bend
  • Willamina
  • Newberg
  • McMinnville
  • Eugene
  • Springfield
  • Cascade Locks
  • Hood River

It will definitely be tempting to want to head towards those traditional Memorial Day Weekend destinations, particularly for those of us in the Metro area. I know that some will be telling themselves that their presence (and especially their dollars) will be welcome and even desired in these “Phase One” locations.  As you case see from these mayors, that’s not yet the case.

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA has reported that 24 additional Oregonians tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, putting the total at 3,725.
  • Total Tests: The total number of tests in Oregon now stands at 105,132. That’s a big increase of 3,083 tests.
  • Ratio: The percentage of positive results for today is just 0.8%. Today’s national percentage is 6.2%.  See below for a graph showing Oregon’s daily percentage changes over the last 14 days.
  • Deaths: I’m afraid that I must report 1 additional death due to the coronavirus.  The total number of deaths in Oregon is now at 145.  
  • Hospitalized: The number of Oregonians who have been hospitalized with symptoms, and who have also tested positive for the disease, increased by 9, and is now at 732.
  • 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 0, so the total of presumptive cases remains at 100.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 152 (12 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 51 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 191 (5 fewer than yesterday).
    • Other Available Beds: 1,672 (23 fewer than yesterday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 40 (2 fewer than yesterday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators:14 (3 fewer than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 784 (4 more than yesterday).
  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • PPE:
  • Other Brief Updates:
    • DOC has just reported their first AIC COVID-19 death. The adult in custody was an interstate transfer from New Mexico with various risk factors. He was only 53 yrs old. Today’s COVID case count is 143 adults in custody and 38 staff members.
    • Oregon State Parks and Recreation just announced that some campgrounds will open up on June 9. You can see which ones, along with the status of other state parks here.
    • A few days ago I shared the new guidelines from the American College Health Association for colleges and universities that want to return to face-to-face education in the fall. Today, Inside Higher Education reported that the CDC has released its own set of guidelines for colleges and universities. They’re more detailed than the ACHA guidelines, similar in some ways, different in others.  Check them out.
    • The Employment Department announced today that it is ready to begin the next new federal unemployment program, the Pandemic Extended Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program. PEUC is a 13-week extension of UI benefits for those who were on UI prior to the pandemic and who need ongoing support.  You can read about it here. Those whose UI has run out will automatically be moved into the new program.  Because it’s an extension of existing eligible benefits, the process of making this change is much simpler to implement.

Monitoring the Counties That Have Reopened or Want to Reopen

OHA reported to legislators today that they have created a new reopening dashboard that will allow us to follow where individual counties are on meeting the individual reopening metrics going forward.  Check it out.

Clackamas County has submitted a proposal for Phase One reopening.  It is currently being evaluated by the OHA.  Washington County is close to submitting a proposal as well.

Multnomah County is not yet ready to submit a proposal.  County Health Department leaders did a presentation on the reopening process to Portland City Commissioners this morning.  It was very interesting, especially for the details on their work on contact tracing.  You can watch the presentation here.  Multnomah County has also updated its PDF on reopening the county.

Finally, as I mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter, the Governor has approved Marion and Polk counties to begin Phase One reopening tomorrow.  I asked OHA about the decision to reopen Marion County, given its very high infection-per-test and infection-per-resident metrics, and the outbreaks that they are experiencing among the Latinx communities in the rural parts of the county.  They acknowledged that this county will require extra effort and monitoring.  They have deployed extra testing equipment and public health personnel and other support to help Marion County.  That’s great and very much needed, but we’ll need to keep watching it very closely.

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,

dembrow signature

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