Coronavirus Update: Washington County to Reopen, Reflections on George Floyd

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Washington County to Reopen, Reflections on George Floyd

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Today, Governor Brown announced that Washington County is approved to enter Phase 1 Reopening next Monday, June 1. This means that 35 of 36 Oregon counties will be in Phase 1 as of next week. The Oregonian has more information on Washington County’s application here.

Multnomah County said this week that it would submit its application for entering Phase 1 on Friday, June 5, with the intention to reopen by Friday, June 12.

I trust Multnomah County’s leadership and public health experts to enter Phase 1 with a clear plan that is grounded in good data and intended to achieve the necessary outcomes. I’m particularly impressed with the additional parameters they have placed on their metrics for reopening, including the emphasis on equity in contact tracing.

The first 31 counties that entered Phase 1 on May 15 (all but Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion and Polk) will have the chance to apply to move to Phase 2 next Friday. We expect to see more information from the Governor’s office tomorrow about what Phase 2 will look like.


House Committees Continue to Meet

The Oregon House of Representatives has been holding virtual committee meetings since last Friday. All committees are hearing invited testimony on themes related to the coronavirus pandemic. Streaming videos and reading materials from these meetings, by committee, can be found here.

On Saturday, the House Business and Labor Committee will meet for a second time this week to continue its conversation with the Oregon Employment Department about its processing of unemployment claims. The meeting will start at 9 am and more information is available here.


The Latest News

  • The Portland Bureau of Transportation will start issuing permits for businesses hoping to expand onto sidewalks or streets outside their storefronts in order to comply with physical distancing and increase capacity. The permits will be available and offered until October 1. Oregon Public Broadcasting has more information available here, and The Oregonian has an interesting story here on how other cities are taking this approach with restaurants.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 49 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 3,994 confirmed cases. There are 4,086 confirmed and presumptive cases combined. Sadly, there have been three more deaths from coronavirus, meaning there have been 151 confirmed deaths in Oregon from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 5-28-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 5-28-2020

Reflections on George Floyd

Since March 12, my team and I have been putting together these Monday thru Friday daily newsletters exclusively devoted to the coronavirus pandemic. Thank you for all the positive feedback and encouragement.

Tonight, the murder of George Floyd and the seriousness of the events in Minneapolis this week compel me to share something more than the latest news on the pandemic.

Our willingness to put our shared humanity first and keep each other safe is at the core of our success thus far in winning the fight against the coronavirus. I’ve been celebrating that humanity for weeks and drawing hope from it. George Floyd’s death at the hands of law enforcement is the opposite of that humanity.

His death is yet another ugly tragedy in a series of deadly encounters that should never happen. The police officers involved in his murder should be charged and held accountable.

The root of the problem is the systemic racism that is embedded in our country’s history. The coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately, is also playing out this same systemic racism, as we witness the disproportionate harm the virus is causing in communities of color. In Oregon, the Latinx community makes up 33% of diagnosed cases of coronavirus despite making up approximately 13% of the state’s population. Nationwide, members of the black community are dying at a far higher rate from coronavirus than other Americans.

This has been such a heartbreaking year. The toll on our public health, our economy, and our collective psyche has been tested like few times in our nation’s history. Will we learn from this experience and build a better world together? I will continue to hope.

And I won’t forget George, Ahmaud, Philando, Tamir and all the other lives that have taken. We must continue to push for greater police accountability and call out racism in all its forms.


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