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June 16, 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.
The COVID news tends to be bad here in Oregon. We’re experiencing a striking number of new COVID cases, and these cannot be attributed just to increased testing. Yes, we are continuing to test more, but those increases are now being far outstripped by the number of positive test results: 270, by far a record. A month ago we had a record low of 1.6% percent of tests coming out positive. Our weekly averages are now double that, and today’s number is 8%, more than four times what it was a month ago. In addition, hospitalizations are gradually going up, with at least 80 Oregonians currently in the hospital for COVID. (Last month there were 40-50.)
What’s going on?
You’ll see below that nearly half the infections can be attributed to the big outbreak in Union County among congregants at the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in rural Island City outside of LaGrande. When it became clear that there was a problem, church leaders worked with the local health authority to organize broad testing of church members. A total of at least 236 church members have tested positive for the virus so far. Only 106 have tested negative. So far, four church members have been hospitalized with COVID, and that number will likely rise.
The OHA is focusing on providing support, not pointing fingers and stigmatizing anyone, but it does appear at this point that transmission was the result of excessive numbers of people without face coverings in a confined indoor space during worship services at the end of May and early June. Contact tracing (with support from neighboring counties and the state) is just beginning to look at subsequent transmission by church members to the larger community; more testing will likely lead to more positives.
It’s hard not to think that if an outbreak like this could happen in little Island City, it could happen anywhere.
We also see an increase of 17 cases in Lincoln County today, the residual effects of the big outbreak in Newport at Pacific Seafood.
These outbreaks are very concerning, particularly as we see people eager to get back to “normal.” But at least they can be pinpointed and potentially contained. Perhaps even more troubling is that we’re seeing an increase in what epidemiologists call “community spread,” where cases can’t be traced to particular workplaces or congregant settings. COVID is a disease where individuals can be extremely contagious without showing any symptoms. When they are spreading the virus without knowing it outside of their narrow circles of work and family, tracing and containing become a real challenge.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that wearing a face covering is a partial answer. It keeps someone who is an unconscious carrier from spreading the virus to others. As a result of the increasing scientific consensus around the benefits of face coverings, I’m hearing from many of you that you would like to see them required in indoor public spaces, and not just for workers and on public transportation. I agree.
We’ve just learned that Lincoln County is initiating such a requirement as a result of the difficulties there, and Multnomah County legislators will soon be making a similar request of our county commission here. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.
It’s clear that this disease is not going away anytime soon, certainly not if we don’t remain vigilant. The numbers are speaking for themselves. Finding the right balance between reopening and vigilance, in a time where there are big social and political issues that need addressing, is definitely the challenge of the moment.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
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Positive Cases: OHA reports that 270 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID-19. The cumulative total is now 5,897.
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Total Tests: The cumulative total number tests in Oregon now stands at 179,337. That’s an increase of 3,396.
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Ratio: The percentage of positive results for today is 8%. Today’s national percentage is 5.1%. See below for a graph showing Oregon’s daily percentage changes over the last 14 days.
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Deaths: I’m afraid I have to report 2 additional death due to the coronavirus today. The total number of deaths in Oregon is now at 182.
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Hospitalized: OHA reported 13 new hospitalizations today. The cumulative total of those who’ve been hospitalized for COVID-19 is now 912.
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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. The number of new presumed cases has increased by 8, and the total number of those presumed positive is 201.
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Other Hospital Information:
- Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 141 (16 more than yesterday). Of those, 80 have already received a positive test back.
- Available ICU Beds: 175 (47 fewer than yesterday).
- Other Available Beds: 830 (254 fewer than yesterday).
- ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 50 (the same as yesterday).
- COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 122 (3 more than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 783 (7 fewer than yesterday).
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Dashboards:
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Today’s National Numbers:
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PPE:
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Additional Brief Updates:
- The Oregon Employment Department has just released the latest figures showing the sectors in which jobs are starting to come back as a result of reopening. You can read the press release here.
- We’ve learned that the Governor is working with her medical advisors to determine whether the counties that had requested to proceed to Phase One or Phase Two reopening last week will be able to do so. She plans to announce the decision sometime tomorrow.
- We’re also expecting further guidance on racetracks and on overnight camps (non-dormitory settings).
- The CDC has just come out with a report showing that individuals with underlying health conditions (serious kidney, heart, and breathing problems) are 12 times more likely to die of COVID than otherwise health individuals and also much more likely to be hospitalized with serious effects. You can read the report here.
- You can also read more about the study in this Washington Post article.
Legislature Going Into Special Session Next Week
You’ve probably already heard that the Governor will be calling the Legislature into a special session next week, on June 24. The focus this time will be entirely policy bills, mainly bills related to the priorities of the moment: policing reform and COVID response. We will be taking up a few consensus bills that were unable to get through the February session because of the Republican walkout. And the Senate will be voting to confirm executive appointments to vacant positions on various boards and commissions.
The Governor has asked us to hold off for now on bills to rebalance the budget in the wake of the revenue downturn. She is still counting on a further infusion of support from Congress that will help us avoid the worst of the cuts. So, as of today at least, the plan is to wait until later in the summer to make those decisions. I’ll let you know more about that soon.
We legislators will have to be physically present in the Capitol for the session despite the pandemic. The constitution requires it at this point. Legislative staff and lawyers are working on the special set of rules for convening during this health emergency that will help keep members (and through them their families) safe. At this point the plan is to open the Capitol physically only to the 90 legislators and essential staff. The public will be able to participate remotely and outdoors. Legislators and staff will be required to wear face coverings, at least while they’re on the floor. There’s still some disagreement around these plans, but I’m hoping they’ll be nailed down and approved soon.
It’s not yet clear how many days the session will take. With any luck (and bipartisandship), we’ll get through it in one day. But it could last a few. Stay tuned.
SD 23 (incl. HD 45 & HD 46) Zoom Town Hall June 23
It’s been a while since Reps Keny-Guyer and Smith Warner and I have had a town hall, and we’re ready for another one. Makes sense to do it just before the special session on the 24th. The agenda will be set and the bills ready, and it will be your chance to give us your advice and opinions. Stay tuned for sign-up instructions, and we’ll be sure to provide you more info between now and then, including potential bill drafts.
Where Are Today’s New Cases?
If we put together the positive test results and new “presumptive” cases reported today, the overall number of new cases is 278. This is by far the largest case count we’ve ever had here in Oregon. Here is the breakdown by county for today:
Clackamas (21)
Crook (1)
Hood River (1)
Jackson (1)
Jefferson (1)
Josephine (1)
Klamath (8)
Lane (1)
Lincoln (17)
Marion (22)
Morrow (2)
Multnomah (42)
Umatilla (1)
Union (119)
Wasco (1)
Washington (37)
Yamhill (2)
And the Deaths:
The OHA had this to say about the two individuals we most recently lost to COVID-19:
Oregon’s 181st COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Clackamas County, who tested positive on June 13 and died on June 15, in his residence. He had underlying medical conditions.
Oregon’s 182nd COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Marion County, who tested positive on June 11 and died on June 13, at Salem Hospital. She had underlying medical conditions.
Additional Graphs:
 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,
 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
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