July 2nd COVID-19 Update

July 2, 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.

I’m afraid I have to report another record day in COVID cases from all around the state, with 352 positive test results and an additional 23 presumed positive.  We are again seeing large numbers in the Tri-County area, but most are from other parts of Oregon.  The largest numbers reported today are from Umatilla County, with 88 new infections, which has seen its case counts rise by nearly 50% over the last week.

I will add, though, that this was another record day for the number of tests reported, an impressive figure of 7,683 tests.  As a result, our percentage of tests that were reported positive today was the same as yesterday’s: 4.6%. 

We’re also seeing records being set at the national level, though we in Oregon are still benefiting from the fact that we were able to keep our case counts and mortality numbers so much lower than other states during the closures.

Let’s do what we can to keep it that way.

TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

• Positive Cases: OHA reports today that 352 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID.  The cumulative total for those testing positive is now 8,877.
• Total Tests: The cumulative total number of positive cases and negative tests in Oregon is now 250,637 an increase of a record 7,683.
• Ratio: The percentage of positive results for the four days since Thursday is 4.6%. The national percentage is 8.7%.  See below for a graph showing Oregon’s daily percentage changes over the last 14 days. 
• Deaths: I’m afraid that I have to report 1 additional death due to the coronavirus.  The total number of deaths in Oregon is now 209.
• Hospitalized: OHA reported that 14 more Oregonians have been hospitalized for COVID-19. The cumulative total is now 1,069.
• 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 total number of those presumed positive is now 377.
• Other Hospital Information:
  • Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 173 (19 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 116 have already received a positive test back, 10 more than on yesterday.
  • Available ICU Beds: 168 (8 fewer than yesterday).
  • Other Available Beds: 827 (39 more than yesterday).
  • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 52 (10 fewer than yesterday).
  • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 25 (1 more than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 806 (22 more than yesterday).
• Dashboards
  • Oregon (OHA)
  • Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, & Yamhill Counties
• Today’s National Numbers:
  • Total Tests: 33,462,181 (up 721,859 from yesterday).
  • Positive Tests: 2,727,628 (up 62,555 from yesterday).
  • Deaths: 121,497 (up 584 from yesterday).
  • These national numbers come from the COVID Tracking Project. You can follow their updated numbers for each, state and the nation as a whole here.
• PPE:
  • In the last 24 hours the Emergency Coordination Center has not received any additional Personal Protective Equipment. You can track the history of incoming and outgoing PPE shipments here.
• Additional Brief Updates:
  • For those of you who need to use DMV services, on Monday they will be moving to a long-awaited online scheduling platform. For the latest on how their reopening process is working, here's an update that legislators just received from DMV.
  • Business Oregon just announced a new $3 million fund to boost organizations that serve traditionally underserved small businesses across the state. The funding is part of an allocation by the Legislature’s Emergency Board, using federal CARES Act dollars.
  • The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) has extended its emergency order for health insurance companies to give consumers more flexibility in paying premiums and making reports through Aug. 2, 2020.  You can find the details here.
  • The Early Learning Division is gathering input on the health and safety precautions in child care needed to help families feel comfortable during the pandemic. You can be part of their decision-making process by completing this survey.  The deadline is Monday, July 6, by 9 pm.

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 375.  Here is the breakdown by county for today:

Clackamas (22)

Columbia (1)

Crook (1)

Deschutes (9)

Douglas (2)

Jackson (15)

Jefferson (8)

Josephine (8)

Lane (15)

Lincoln (3)

Linn (3)

Malheur (16)

Marion (32)

Morrow (8)

Multnomah (64)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (88)

Union (5)

Wallowa (2)

Wasco (2)

Washington (67)

Yamhill (5)

And the Death:

The OHA had this to say about the Oregonian we most recently lost to COVID-19:

Oregon’s 209^th COVID-19 death is 73-year-old woman in Klamath County who tested positive on June 20 and died on June 30. Her place of death is being confirmed.

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:

• Multnomah County has a status report on reopening.
• You can view the reopening status of all 36 counties here.
• Here is the OHA’s coronavirus page, with links to a number of resources. 
• Oregon's Office of Emergency Management now has a website for information about COVID-19.
• You can sign up here for regular coronavirus updates from OHA.
• Multnomah County has an excellent website with lots of really important advice and guidance.
• Here’s one from the Governor’s Office.
• The Employment Department has put together a webpage with Q&A’s on a number of employment issues related to COVID-19 (e.g., eligibility for Unemployment Insurance benefits).
• The Oregon Education Department has a new site for COVID-19 updates.
• The Department of Corrections has a COVID tracking website.

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