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June 20, 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.
Since it’s the weekend, today’s newsletter will not include all of the reporting metrics that are included during the week. OHA is no longer issuing full data reports on Saturdays and Sundays. But I’m still able to get you a lot of useful info regarding current infection rates.
As a result of the modified reporting, you’ll notice a couple of changes in today’s report. No information regarding hospitalizations and no specific breakout for positive test results (positive tests are combined with “presumptive positive” cases for today’s total positive cases.). Monday’s report will incorporate the additional positive test results and hospitalization information.
As I do on Saturdays, I also am including a county-by-county lookback on number of new cases, number of tests, the percentage of tests that are positive, and deaths. My goal is to help you see at a glance the trends that we are seeing in the individual counties.
You’ll see that the infection rates in a number of counties—and in the state as a whole—are now going up, compared to last week. They are still relatively low overall, but they are definitely moving in the wrong direction. You’ll see substantial increases in Lincoln, Union, Umatilla, and Klamath Counties, all the result of outbreaks at workplaces or in the case of Union County a church community. Relative to their populations, these are high numbers. The Portland Tri-County area is showing high case counts, but these are of course much higher population areas.
In today’s newsletter you’ll also see a few more of the bill concepts that have been drafted. This should complete the initial batch of bills up for consideration next week. However, I know that there are more drafting requests out there that some advocates and members are still hoping will be considered.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
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Positive Cases: OHA reports that 178 additional Oregonians have tested positive or have been presumed positive for COVID-19. The cumulative total for both those testing positive and those presumed positive is now 6,750.
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Total Tests: The cumulative total number tests in Oregon now stands at 198,936. That’s another very large increase of 5,247 tests.
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Ratio: The percentage of positive results for today is 3.4%. (This includes the new presumptive positives, so the test ratio alone is likely a little lower.) Today’s national percentage is 5.5%. 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 1 additional death due to the coronavirus today. The total number of deaths in Oregon is now at 189.
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Hospitalized: : No new hospitalization numbers today, so the total remains 946.
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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.
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Other Hospital Information: Below are Friday’s numbers. They’ll be updated on Monday.
- Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 154 (13 more than yesterday). Of those, 92 have already received a positive test back.
- Available ICU Beds: 159 (25 fewer than yesterday).
- Other Available Beds: 840 (13 more than yesterday).
- ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 50 (4 more than yesterday).
- COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 29 (1 more than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 792 (2 fewer than yesterday).
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Dashboards:
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Today’s National Numbers:
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PPE:
Additional Bill Concepts Drafted
In addition to the Legislative Concepts that I included in yesterday’s newsletter, here are three additional concepts that came out of Legislative Counsel today. I’ve also added them to the appropriate sections of the overall listing below, with links to the draft text.
LC 7: This is a redraft of the forestry bill. Again, it memorializes an agreement between environmental organizations and timber companies creating restrictions on and notification of pesticide use in our private and state forests.
LC 83: Prohibits police officers from using force that limits the ability of a person to breathe, including but not limited to choke holds.
LC 90: Prohibits residential and commercial evictions up to 90 days after the emergency period has ended.
More On Special Session and Potential Bills
Again, the Special Session Joint Committee will be meeting on Monday afternoon in order to organize itself and begin taking testimony. Anticipating that there will be extensive testimony, they have also scheduled a meeting for Tuesday, beginning at 9:30. Here's the agenda.
In order to make the process as transparent as possible, I want to share with you in advance the Legislative Concepts that we have received so far. Again, they fall into three categories: Police Accountability, COVID Response, and Urgent Holdovers from the February session. Please remember that these are preliminary drafts and very much in flux. I’m sure most of them will see changes before the session actually begins. Let me also say that at this point I’m supportive of most of them (in concept) but not all.
More will be coming out tonight and tomorrow, and I’ll include them in in tomorrow’s newsletter.
Police Accountability
LC 49: Prohibits an arbitrator from reinstating an officer judged to have committed misconduct, where the employer followed the guidelines agreed upon through collective bargaining.
LC 78: Creates a statewide database of police officer disciplinary proceedings, so that problem officers can be identified and prevented from being hired elsewhere in the state.
LC 79: Requires that instances of death or serious injury caused by police officers to be investigated and potentially prosecuted by the state Department of Justice.
LC 80: Creates rules requiring police officers to intervene to stop another officer from engaging in an act that is illegal, unethical, or violates rules or policy.
LC 81: Prohibits law enforcement from using tear gas, long range acoustic devices, or sound cannons
LC 83: Prohibits police officers from using force that limits the ability of a person to breathe, including but not limited to choke holds.
COVID Emergency Issues
LC 33: Prohibits commercial evictions during the pandemic.
LC 37: Temporarily extends timelines for judicial proceedings during the pandemic.
LC 39: Expands access to broadband via a service charge on cell phone plans.
LC 66: Extends for one year small school district grants and school district funding for foreign exchange students.
LC 74: Creates state meat processing inspection program to address disruptions due to outbreaks in very large national meat processing plants.
LC 76: Increases for one year the percentage of district students who can be enrolled in an outside virtual charter school from 3% to 8%.
LC 84: This is an omnibus bill covering multiple elements of coronavirus response.
LC 85: Creates temporary limitations on the ability of lenders to enforce foreclosures during the pandemic.
LC 90: Prohibits residential and commercial evictions up to 90 days after the emergency period has ended.
Holdover Issues
LC 7: Memorializes an agreement between environmental organizations and timber companies creating restrictions on and notification of pesticide use.
LC 43: Fixes problems with existing allocation system for transit services, including for seniors and people with disabilities.
LC 51: A number of fixes related to foster youth placements, including out-of-state placements.
LC 53: Technical fixes to the Corporate Activities Tax passed last year.
LC 56: Expands dental procedures that a dental hygienist can do.
LC 62: Grant/Loan Program for Eastern Oregon workforce development/economic development.
What’s Going On In the Counties?
Each Saturday I’m tracking how individual counties are doing now that nearly all are either in Phase One or Phase Two and we are seeing a number of relaxations statewide as well. The key metrics that OHA will be watching as counties apply for or are in Phase Two are the number of positive test results and the percentage of positive test results among all tests administered; the latter will be the more important way for us to see if the infection rate is increasing as a result of reopening and increased testing. (They also are looking at hospital capacity and changes in hospitalization rates, but I don’t have that information by county.)
You’ll see some significant increases this week in the numbers in some counties, some of them (Lincoln and Union) truly eye-popping. The increases seem particularly striking when the overall numbers in the county are very low to begin with. While the percentages of positive test results were going down overall, which is what we want, they are now starting to go up overall. The differences are particularly noticeable in those counties that have experienced outbreaks at workplaces, long-term care facilities, and in the case of Union County, a church community.
In order to give you a better sense of the increases in testing, I’m again showing the percent increase in tests given each week. They will help you see how higher case counts can at least in part be explained by increased testing.
The tables include cumulative numbers as of Friday.
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 . Here is the breakdown by county for today:
Benton (2)
Clackamas (19)
Coos (3)
Douglas (1)
Jackson (2)
Jefferson (1)
Klamath (4)
Lincoln (23)
Linn (1)
Malheur (6)
Marion (30)
Morrow (1)
Multnomah (34)
Umatilla (4)
Union (2)
Wallowa (2)
Wasco (4)
Washington (37)
And the Death:
The OHA had this to say about the person we most recently lost to COVID-19:
Oregon’s 189th COVID-19 death is a 53-year-old man in Morrow County who tested positive on June 12 and died on June 18, in his residence. He had underlying medical conditions.
Additional Graphs:
ZOOM Town Hall June 23
A reminder that Alissa, Barbara, and I will be holding a pre-Special Session Zoom town next Tuesday evening, June 23, 5-6:30 p.m. Register in advance for the meeting here. After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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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