Coronavirus Update: 100,000 Deaths in the United States

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: 100,000 Deaths in the United States

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

First, my apologies for some information I shared yesterday about rent assistance. Some of the phone numbers were not correct. I’m sorry for any inconvenience that caused. My Facebook page has the correct information, which you can view here.

Second, today marked the day that the United States reached 100,000 deaths from coronavirus. It’s another sad milestone in this pandemic, and my thoughts continue to go out to anyone who has suffered a loss or is dealing with the many other stressful factors of this pandemic.

From a public health standpoint, the courageous work that Oregonians have taken on over the last two months has continued to make an impact. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) released their weekly coronavirus report today (which can be found here).

During the week from Monday, May 18, through Sunday, May 24, OHA recorded 289 new cases of COVID-19 infection, a 26% drop from the previous week (392 new cases). The state now has the capacity to conduct more than 22,000 tests per week, and our test positivity rate continues to shrink, which is great news. Today also marks the third day in a row and fourth time in five days when no new deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded in Oregon.

As other states have reopened at a more frantic pace and are suffering through tragic consequences, I hope we continue doing all we can to save lives while gradually reopening our economy.

I also know that this pandemic has taken a historic economic toll on Oregon and the country. I was disappointed with the Oregon Employment Department’s presentation today before the House Business and Labor Committee. Too many Oregonians are still waiting on their unemployment benefits, and there has not been sufficient communication from the department for people to know where their claims are in the process.

I still want to know if you or someone you know is having trouble hearing back from the department about unemployment claims. My office has heard from a lot of folks. My team will continue to get these stories directly to the department and keep pushing for answers. I read the emails that come in, and they are heartbreaking.

The House Business and Labor Committee will meet again Saturday morning. We hope to hear more from the department about how it will improve their handling of this crisis.


Updates on Symptoms and Recovery Times

In the state’s weekly data report, the OHA noted the most commonly reported symptoms of coronavirus continue to be cough (64.7%), muscle aches (47.6%), and headaches (47.5%). All other symptom data is listed below.


OHA Signs and Symptoms 5-27-2020

Additionally, OHA staff periodically call Oregonians with reported cases of COVID-19 who have experienced fever, cough, shortness of breath, or diarrhea and ask about the status of their symptoms. Of all the people interviewed who haven’t passed away from the virus, 75.9% of cases are considered recovered, 8.6% have yet to recover, and the current recovery status is not yet available for 15.5% of these cases.

People are assumed to have recovered on the third day after resolution of all symptoms. The median time to recover among symptomatic cases is 21 days, and the median time to recover for symptomatic cases who were hospitalized is 24 days.


The Latest News

  • Multnomah County is hoping to enter Phase 1 of reopening on Friday, June 12, Chair Deborah Kafoury said today. The county will file its application to the state on Friday, June 5. The Oregonian has more information here.
  • Oregon Department of Education director Colt Gill told the Salem Reporter the state will soon have details on how schools can open in the fall. You can read that interview here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 71 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 3,947 confirmed cases. There are 4,038 confirmed and presumptive cases combined. There have been 148 confirmed deaths in Oregon from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 5-27-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 5-27-2020

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

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