Coronavirus Update: Pressing Pause on Reopening

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: Pressing Pause on Reopening

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Last night, Governor Brown announced that she was instituting a statewide one-week pause on county reopening applications. No county will advance beyond their current phase for at least seven days.

This last-minute announcement affected businesses that were preparing for restarted customer activity today and through the weekend. I want to recognize that disruption and the continued sacrifice it means. It’s important to understand why the Governor made this choice.

New cases are rising and yesterday’s statewide total of 178 new cases was an all-time daily high. Cases increased by 75% during the week ending June 7, during which there were 620 new confirmed cases. This compares to an 18% increase the previous week.

Additionally, Oregon’s test positivity rate increased from 1.9% to 3.0%. This is still far better than many states in the country, but a cause for caution and concern among public health officials nonetheless. Hospitalizations have also been on the rise.

The rise in cases appears to be caused by a number of factors: workplace outbreaks around the state (including Lincoln, Multnomah, Hood River, Clackamas and Umatilla counties), increased gatherings around the state, and the general risk that comes with reopening the state. Workplace outbreaks can present particularly difficult challenges for local health departments to trace infections, as The Oregonian details here.

While the news of rising cases is concerning, there are elements of good news. Emergency department visits are still below 1% and stable, the Oregon Health Authority says we are meeting our statewide contact tracing goal, and there were more than 18,000 tests conducted in the last week, an all-time high.

You can check out up-to-date county data by clicking on the image below.


OHA COVID-19 Tableau 6-12-2020

Oregon is also in a far better position than many states that have been far less cautious in reopening. There are 19 states where cases are rising, according to Johns Hopkins University, and states like Arizona are getting dangerously close to reaching hospital capacity.

These continue to be incredibly stressful times. The pandemic has caused more than 112,000 deaths in the country and unemployment levels not seen since the Great Depression.

But there is still a lot of reason for hope.

I want to point you to this UC Berkeley study that was published this week, which shows that emergency measures in six countries, including the United States, have prevented more than 500 million infections. Solomon Hsiang, the lead author of the study, noted that it is “one of humanity’s greatest collective achievements.”

“I don’t think any human endeavor has ever saved so many lives in such a short period of time,” Hsiang said. “There have been huge personal costs to staying home and canceling events, but the data show that each day made a profound difference.”

Oregonians did an amazing job flattening the curve for the first two months of the pandemic. It will be another challenge to stop this current increase, and pausing reopening to improve overall public health and protect our health care workers is the right long-term economic decision.

While we are faced with immense hardship and perhaps the greatest challenge of our lifetime, Oregonians have stepped up to save each others’ lives and stand up for each other. Similarly to how Oregonians have also taken to the streets for weeks to protest generations of systematic oppression, racism, and police brutality.

I believe we are up to the task of getting through this pandemic. We will need to maintain our resolve and follow the direction of our public health officials: keep physical distance from others, wear face coverings in public, maintain frequent hand-washing, stay home while sick, and answer contact tracing calls if and when they come.


Staying Safe Reopening 6-12-2020

Multnomah County Remains at Baseline

Governor Brown’s announcement means that Multnomah County has not yet been approved to enter Phase 1 Reopening. The county submitted its application last week with the hope of being approved today.

Public health officials noted today that the county has seen an increase in hospitalizations over two weeks, an increase in test positivity rate, and an increase in the number of cases that aren’t traced back to a single source. The county had 43 new cases Thursday, and its seven-day rolling average of new cases reached an all-time high this week, which The Oregonian details here.

Multnomah County, where cases make up 27% of the state’s total, has a list of frequently asked questions about the virus and reopening here.

Here is where all counties in the state currently stand:

Phase 2 (29): Baker, Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Wheeler and Yamhill

Phase 1 (6): Clackamas, Hood River, Lincoln, Marion, Polk and Washington (Hood River, Polk and Marion have applied for Phase 2)

Baseline (1): Multnomah


Oregon Counties COVID 6-12-2020

Call for a Police Accountability Special Session

Yesterday, the Oregon Legislative People of Color (POC) Caucus, some of their Republican colleagues, and others called for a legislative special session on police accountability. I’m all in and ready to get to work and make this happen. You can read the full release here, as well as the original POC Caucus release last week calling for reforms here.


The Latest News

  • The Oregon Supreme Court upheld Governor Brown’s authority during a public health emergency and ordered a Baker County Circuit judge to vacate a prior ruling to nullify the Stay Home, Save Lives order. Oregon Public Broadcasting has details here.
  • Oregon universities can resume in-person classes and activities under certain public health guidelines, starting Sunday. The Register-Guard has more details here, and guidelines for those classes from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission are available here.
  • Governor Brown has asked the Oregon Department of Corrections for a case-by-case analysis of approximately 100 inmates who may be at increased risk of contracting coronavirus and may meet criteria for early release. The Oregonian has more details here.
  • The Oregon Health Authority reported 142 more confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 5,207 confirmed cases. There are 5,377 confirmed and presumptive cases combined. Sadly, there have been two more deaths, meaning there have been 173 confirmed deaths in Oregon from coronavirus.

OHA COVID-19 Update 6-12-2020

OHA Hospital Capacity 6-12-2020

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