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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy Fourth of July Weekend! This year’s celebration will be different than previous years, and each of us will be finding unique ways to celebrate safely. While large gatherings for firework displays will not be safe this year, the Forest Grove Fire Department is going to try a new fireworks display this year. If you can look into the northwest sky, and see the foothills of David Hill, you should be able to see this show. Most folks in Forest Grove should be able to see the show from their homes, but if you choose to find a better vantage point, please be safe, wear a mask, and maintain your social distance from those around you. This new physically distanced display will make it more difficult for Forest Grove Fire to fundraise for next year, so if you’d like to contribute, they have set up a Go Fund Me. You can learn more about the show on their facebook page.
However you choose to celebrate this weekend, it is imperative that we take common sense precautions: Wear a mask in indoor public places, and in close gatherings outside, wash your hands often and thoroughly, and keep gatherings small and local! It is up to all of us to keep our community safe. After Memorial Day we saw increased cases, let’s not repeat that trend!
- As you know, July 1st was the first day of the new statewide requirement for face coverings in indoor public spaces. Updated Mask Guidance related to this requirement can be found here.
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Compliance with this requirement is essential. With increasing cases in both adults and children across the state, controlling the spread of COVID is necessary to keep our businesses open, and to keep us on track for reopening schools in the fall. Please do your part, keep gatherings as small and close to home as possible, and wear masks or face coverings when you leave home and when you have friends or family over.
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Disability Rights Oregon has compiled an excellent “Know Your Rights” resource document, available here. The statewide mask requirement is good news for many people with disabilities who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. It presents a lot of challenges, however, for some people with disabilities who can’t wear masks for reasons associated with their disabilities. Finding a way to accommodate specific needs while protecting public health is a real challenge. ADA accommodations are included in the updated mask guidance, but folks who are unable to wear masks are encouraged to use curbside pickup and other alternatives where possible.
PSA: A Mask is Just a Mask
- Confirmed Cases: 2,679,230 (up 54,357 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 128,024 (up 725 from yesterday)
- These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
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Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 9,294 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19. Today we have 375 new confirmed and presumptive cases. Tragically we have had a total of 209 Oregonians die from COVID-19. Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 1,446 confirmed cases, and our daily new cases are also rising with 67 new cases today. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
- The Oregon Health Authority recently provided a Public Health Indicators Dashboard to enable communities across Oregon to monitor COVID-19 in the state.The dashboard, which will be updated weekly on Thursdays, provides a transparent report that presents complex epidemiological data in an interactive, easy-to-understand way on a state and county level.
Table showing Oregon case, testing and demographic data, link to more information
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Washington County Small Business Grants: Washington County is asking you to please help spread the word about Washington County’s next round of small business economic assistance grants of $3,000 each. We will be opening the application period at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 8. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, July 10, or until 10,000 applications are received, whichever comes first. Links to the applications will be available on the County’s Business Recovery website: co.washington.or.us/bizrecovery
- Eligible businesses must:
- Be physically located in unincorporated Washington County (outside cities).
- Have been closed by the “Stay Home. Save Loves” executive order or have lost 30% or more in revenue in any one month since March 2020 (compared to the same month in 2019).
- Be individually owned, if a franchise.
- Been in operation since March 1, 2019.
- Be a for-profit business.
- Be registered with the state or be exempt from the registration requirement.
- Be current on all federal, state and local taxes as of Dec. 31, 2019
- Be compliant with all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
- Eligible businesses must not:
- Have had more than 25 full-time employees at any one time in the last 12 months.
- Have received a grant or loan from Washington County or the Washington County Visitors Association since March 1, 2020.
- Be a passive real estate holding company or other entity holding a passive investment in a small business without operational ties to that business
- Have had more than $5 million in 2019 gross revenue.
- Be an adult-oriented business or derive a majority of income from gambling activities.
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Infections Rise in Children: Coronavirus infections are increasing among children. As reported by The Oregonian, cases among Oregon children younger than 10 were up noticeably this month, representing the fastest growth rate of new infections in any age range. Public health officials have said that most of the spread to children is coming from community spread, as adults bring the virus into their homes or children are socializing with children from other households. You can read The Oregonian story here. This, and the overall increase in infection rates, might influence whether schools can open in the fall. We can prevent the spread of disease among adults and children through simple actions: wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart, and washing our hands regularly. Currently, masks are strongly recommended for children between 2 and 12 years of age. Children under 2 should not wear masks. Public health experts say that if face coverings are worn by this age group, they should be worn with the assistance and close supervision of an adult. Masks, face shields, or face coverings should never be worn by children when sleeping.
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Resources for Renters: Oregon Law Center has compiled some helpful resources for renters as they navigate the eviction moratorium and subsequent repayment period. You can find their resources for renters here. Under the new law, a landlord can give the tenant a notice saying how much rent the tenant owes and will have to pay back by March 31, 2021. Starting October 1, 2020 a landlord can also give a notice to the tenant requiring that the tenant tell the landlord within 14 days if the tenant plans to use the six-month grace period to pay back any rent owing.
- It is extremely important that tenants respond to this notice.
- If a tenant does not tell the landlord that they plan to use the six-month grace period to pay back the deferred rent, the landlord can charge the tenant half a month’s rent as a penalty.
- Tenants can notify their landlord that they plan to use the six-month grace period by text, email, letter, or verbally. But tenants should be sure to keep a record of all of their communications with their landlords about their rent repayments. OLC has a sample letter to use to tell your landlord that you plan to use the six-month grace period to pay back rent (below and included in online resources).
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July 1st Media Briefing with Interim Employment Director David Gerstenfeld
- The Employment Department remains behind in processing claims, particularly Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Claims. Below you will find an update on the progress of the department in processing claims, getting through the backlog, and meeting their Focus PUA goals.
- In Week One (last Sunday to Saturday), OED was able to process 4,368 PUA applications, about 600 shy of their goal. The goal for this week is to process 7,500 applications.
- OED is close to launching the new Google application for PUA, which will allow them to more quickly input the applications into their system for processing, and will improve their reporting capabilities. This tool is expected to be ready the first half of July.
- By the end of next week, OED is adding 150-200 phone lines which will add capacity for both the regular unemployment and the PUA line.
- The Employment Department has also updated their FAQs for both regular UI and PUA.
Employers and Employees
- Unemployment options http://www.oregon.gov/employ, including the Work Share program at oregonworkshare.com
- See FAQs, and subscribe to updates at https://govstatus.egov.com/ORUnemployment_COVID19
- File a Claim online at https://secure.emp.state.or.us/ocs4/index.cfm?u=F20200324A152211B60880938.0174&lang=E
- Independent Contractor, Gig Worker, & Self Employed Workers can use the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Application at https://govstatus.egov.com/ui-benefits/CARES
- Email the department with questions: OED_COVID19_Info@oregon.gov, you should hear back within about a week, please do not email multiple times with the same question, and please include as much information as possible in your first email. Sending multiple emails asking about the status of your claim will only cause further backlog, and make it harder for OED staff to respond to you and others.
- If you have received a claim denial, or need to appeal an Employment Department decision, use this email: OED_UI_HEARINGSREQ@oregon.gov
- With the extreme increase in people seeking unemployment, the phone lines are busy and it has been difficult to get through. Please preserve phone line capacity by using the email and online tools whenever possible, many of our neighbors do not have internet access but have not been able to get through on the phone due to bottlenecks. You will not lose your place in line by filing online or using email instead of the phone.
- The Oregon Labor and Industries Technical Assistance for Employers page at https://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA/pages/index.aspx has information about employer obligations and responsibilities.
- Business Oregon has a robust list of financial resources including non-bank lenders at https://www.oregon4biz.com/Coronavirus-Information/
- The US Small Business Administration offers disaster assistance in the form of SBA loans to designated states. Information about these loans is available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/Index
- The latest COVID-19/Coronavirus information on resources for workers and business owners is available at https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/coronavirus2020.aspx
- Oregon Secretary of State’s business resources can be found at www.oregon.gov/smallbusiness or you can email questions to business.sos@oregon.gov.
Education Links
Local Government
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
View Past Updates, Share and Subscribe:
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 (http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. You can also share this site with your friends and loved ones, so they can view past newsletters, and subscribe to future updates.
Thinking of safe activities for the long weekend? Consider visiting one of our beautiful local vineyards! Bring your mask and respect other people's space!
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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