Coronavirus Update: Phase 2 Reopening and Other Announcements

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Phase 2 Reopening and Other Announcements

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Just a quick note to say there won’t be a newsletter tomorrow, but we’ll be back on Friday. But there’s plenty of news today, so please read on.


Governor Brown and state public health officials rolled out the guidelines for Phase 2 of Reopening Oregon at a press event this morning.

There are 31 counties who are eligible to apply to enter Phase 2 on Friday, which is the earliest possible date any county can enter Phase 2. Five counties - Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion and Polk - are not yet eligible to apply.

Counties can be approved to enter Phase 2 if they have been in Phase 1 for at least three weeks, are continuing to prevent the spread of the virus, and meet other public health goals set by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Details on the process for entering Phase 2 can be found here.

OHA will review all county data and announce tomorrow which counties can start on Friday. As of this afternoon, 26 counties have applied. The Oregonian has more details here.


Reduce the Risk 6-3-2020

Phase 2 continues the county-by-county approach to reopening. Counties can be approved to enter Phase 2 only if they have been in Phase 1 for at least 21 days and are succeeding in controlling the spread of the virus.

Counties approved to enter Phase 2 must continue to meet these Phase 1 goals:

  • Declining disease prevalence;
  • Having an adequate number of contact tracers, including people reflective of the communities they serve; and
  • Establishing adequate testing, isolation and quarantine facilities, sufficient hospital surge capacity, and sufficient personal protective equipment supply.

Counties must also meet additional prerequisites, including:

  • Demonstrating that they are able to trace new cases within 24 hours;
  • Identifying the source of new cases at least 70% of the time; and
  • No significant increase in cases.

Counties that enter Phase 2 will be able to continue with the reopening process if they follow these updated health and safety guidelines:

  • Gathering limits will be raised to 50 people indoors, and 100 people outdoors.
  • Indoor and outdoor venues, including theaters and churches, with 6 feet of physical distancing and other measures in place, can reach a COVID-19 occupancy limit of up to 250.
  • Offices can begin reopening and employees can return to workplaces with physical distancing and other measures in place, though remote work is still strongly recommended whenever possible.
  • Increased travel will be allowed throughout Oregon, though staying local is still recommended to prevent overloading county health systems.
  • Restaurants and bars will have curfews extended to midnight.
  • Pools and sports courts will be allowed to reopen under new guidance.
  • Indoor and outdoor activities such as bowling, batting cages, and mini golf, will be allowed to reopen under new guidance.
  • Recreational sports can resume in a limited form, under strict physical distancing guidance.

Counties that enter Phase 2 could go back to Phase 1 if they slip on one or more of their public health goals. Phase 3 will not be an option for at least the next few months.


Phase II Reopening 6-3-2020

Additional Guidelines for Indoor and Outdoor Entertainment

OHA also announced new guidelines for other facilities today. These apply to all counties, including those in Phase 1 or still on baseline status. You can find more information here.

  • Zoos, gardens, and museums can reopen in a limited fashion.
  • Professional and collegiate sports teams can return to training in their facilities with physical distancing and health and safety measures in place.

New Testing Recommendations for People with No Symptoms

Oregon has the fourth-lowest infection rate in the country, but has recently seen a small uptick in confirmed cases. Hospitalizations continue to fall, testing capacity continues to increase, and the rate at which people are testing positive is going down. This is all welcome news, but does not mean we are out of the woods yet.

Accordingly, the state is now recommending tests for some people even if they have no symptoms. You can read more about it here from The Oregonian.

Those groups are:

  • People who have had close contact with a person with a confirmed infection or with a person presumed by public health officials to be infected.
  • People exposed to coronavirus in a congregate setting, such as a nursing home or prison.
  • Migrant or seasonal farm workers when they arrive in Oregon.
  • Oregonians who are black, African-American, Latino, Latina, Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander.
  • Oregonians with a disability.
  • People whose first language is not English.

Encouraging testing among some people without symptoms can help identify infections earlier and reduce the spread, particularly within groups who have been disproportionately impacted.


OHA Weekly Testing Summary

The Oregon Health Authority published its weekly testing summary today, which you can read in full here.

The most commonly reported symptoms are still cough (63.3%) headache (47.3%), and muscle aches (47.0%), followed by chills, a fever over 100 degrees, and shortness of breath.


OHA Signs and Symptoms 6-3-2020

Median time to recover among symptomatic cases is presently 21 days. The median time to recover for symptomatic cases who were hospitalized is 25 days.

Additionally, OHA has started weekly reporting for care facility, senior living community, and congregate living setting outbreaks with three or more confirmed cases. An outbreak is considered closed if there are no new cases identified for 28 days after the last case onset. This does not include facilities with outbreaks that are now closed.


OHA Care Facility Data 6-3-2020

The agency is also publishing data on active workplace outbreaks (five or more cases) and hospitals with 10 or more coronavirus patients.


OHA Workplace Data 6-3-2020

OHA Hospital Reporting 6-3-2020

Keep in mind that the spread of coronavirus can happen anywhere when necessary precautions aren’t taken. More and more cases have been linked to family gatherings across the state, in addition to workplace and care setting outbreaks.

OHA added this disclaimer with the new published data: “The presence of correctional facilities and food packing and agricultural worksites on this list is illustrative of the challenges of controlling COVID-19 in settings where people must work or live in close proximity. In addition, people of color are overrepresented in agricultural and correctional settings, perhaps contributing to higher rates of COVID-19 observed in these groups. Readers should note that OHA publishes these data in response to public request, but with some concern that workers or staff members at these worksites might be subject to discrimination. State and local public health officials work intensively with staff at worksites where outbreaks are identified to isolate sick workers, test and quarantine those who have been exposed and implement worksite changes to reduce risk of transmission.”


Unemployment Update

I’m happy to report that there is now a phone number for people who have Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims. That phone number is 503-370-5400.

My office has now received more than 450 emails from Oregonians in need of answers from the Oregon Employment Department. My team is working hard to respond to these emails and continuing to get those directly to the department.

Interim Director David Gerstenfeld hosted a teleconference today in which he said the department would be willing to bring in the National Guard in order to process more claims and get money out that is owed to Oregonians. The Oregonian covered his remarks and you can read more about that teleconference here.


The Latest News

  • Multnomah County, the one county in the state that has not yet applied to enter Phase 1 Reopening, is still on track to reopen on Friday, June 12, according to its board of commissioners. Willamette Week has more information on the benchmarks the county is tracking here.
  • Self Enhancement Inc. will be hosting the state's first non-symptom testing site for COVID-19 focused on the African-American community. You can sign up by going here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 65 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 4,280 confirmed cases. There are 4,399 confirmed and presumptive cases combined. Sadly, there have been two more deaths from coronavirus, meaning there have been 159 confirmed deaths in Oregon from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 6-3-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 6-3-2020

DMV Update

At the beginning of the week, the Department of Motor Vehicles opened for limited business by appointment, but saw its phone system overwhelmed right away with thousands of callers attempting to book appointments.

So, they regrouped and adjusted. They now have a web-based form to request an appointment at a DMV office, which you can access here. Using the online form, DMV will set appointments for the following services at this time:

  • Driver licensing and ID cards – originals, renewals and replacements, including passenger car and commercial licenses, and instruction permits
  • Driver knowledge tests
  • Driving privilege reinstatements with a license issuance
  • Disabled parking placards
  • VIN inspections for new-to-Oregon vehicles previously titled elsewhere
  • Farm endorsements

The DMV cannot do drive tests due to social distancing restrictions and is not sure when those tests can resume. And they appreciate your patience!


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