August 20th COVID-19 Update

Michael Dembrow

August 20, 2020

I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well, staying healthy, and looking out for your neighbors and friends.

In today’s newsletter, along with the metrics of the day, you’ll find announcements regarding the reopening status of one county and the “Watchlist” status of three others (one of which I’m scratching my head over).  You’ll also find an important update on the new $500 relief payment program.

And a few pieces of advice from the Health Authority.

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA reports that 288 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID. The cumulative total for those testing positive is 22,917.
  • Total Tests: The number of tests has increased by 5,205. The cumulative number of tests since the pandemic began is now 505,119.
  • Ratio: The percentage of positive tests today in Oregon is 5.5% of total results. The national percentage today is 6.8%. 
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to report 4 additional deaths due to the coronavirus today. You can read about those we lost further down in the newsletter. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 412.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports that an additional 21 Oregonians have been hospitalized with COVID-19. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic is 1,979.
  • Presumptive Cases: OHA is 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   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.  OHA reports 13 additional presumed positives today.  The total number of presumed positive cases is currently 1,248.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 175 (28 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 1 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 142 (4 more than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 612 (23 fewer than yesterday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 48 (3 fewer than yesterday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 21 (5 more than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 783 (4 fewer than yesterday).
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  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • 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:
    • You’ll recall that several weeks ago Umatilla County was moved from Phase Two Reopening back to “Baseline” (Stay Home) as a result of the ongoing big surge in COVID cases there. Though their infection rates remain high, they have come down by half since then. As a result, Governor Brown announced late last night that she is moving Umatilla County to Phase One effective tomorrow.  This will allow bars and restaurants, personal services, and cultural/social/faith gatherings up to fifty individuals.  You’ll be able to track their progress in this newsletter’s weekly county reports on Saturdays.
    • We’ve also just learned that the Governor is removing Wasco and Marion Counties from the “County Watchlist,” i.e., that group of counties that have high rates of community spread and need extra help from the state. At the same time, she is adding Jackson County to the list. That means that the watchlist includes the following counties now: Baker, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Malheur, Morrow, Multnomah, and Umatilla. (To be honest, the changes to Jackson and Wasco Counties make sense, but it’s not clear to me why Marion County has come off the list, given their ongoing increases in infection rate and positivity rate.  I’ll try to find out more.)
    • OHA has released a couple of pieces of COVID-related advice for Oregonians, one on “Talking to Friends and Family about Wearing a Face Covering” and the other on “What to Do If You Have Been Exposed to COVID-19.”

Update on $500 Emergency Checks Available for Oregonians in Need

As I reported yesterday, the new $500 emergency relief program began yesterday.  We learned today that qualifying Oregonians flocked to their local credit unions and banks to wait in line to get their relief payments.  By the end of the day, 12,000 people had received payments.  From what I hear, the same number is expected to be served today.

After discussions with the participating financial institutions, the decision has been made not to run this program on Saturday or Sunday. Most Credit Unions and Banks are not open on the weekend anyway, but there were a few- mainly in metro areas- that were open Saturday. To provide funds only to those in the metro areas would be unfair, so the program will close for the weekend and resume on Monday.

If you’re eligible to receive one of the payments (see the qualifying information below), I’d recommend that you contact your closest financial institution first (that info is on the program website linked below).  It could allow you to avoid a long wait.

Also, remember that you will need to be wearing a face covering and maintain six-foot distancing while waiting in line.

Here again is the description of the program from yesterday’s newsletter:

You may recall that a little over a month ago, the Legislative Emergency Board appropriated $35 million to get some immediate relief out to Oregonians hit hard by the pandemic and its economic impacts.  It was triggered in part by the fact that tens of thousands of Oregonians had yet to receive their unemployment insurance benefits, particularly those in the new PUA program. That remains the case for many.

In order to get these $500 relief payments out to people as quickly as possible, we asked the private sector to help.  A number of credit unions, Umpqua Bank, and Columbia Bank stepped up, worked with the state on logistics, and will be helping get the money into the hands of those who need it right away.  The program was launched today.

You may be eligible for this payment if you are at least 18 years old and

  • Are a current resident of Oregon.
  • Can prove your identity.
  • Are experiencing severe financial hardship due to the Governor’s Executive orders 20-07 or 20-12 or indirectly hardship due to the orders.
    • These are the ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’ orders that closed many restaurants and personal services to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many sectors – like personal transportation services – were indirectly affected by the orders and may have resulted in a loss of income.
  • Earned $4,000/month or less pre-tax prior to your income loss due to COVID-19.
  • Are NOT current on your unemployment payments:
    • Current means you have received all payments for weeks claimed except for the current claim week. Applicants should count base payments for traditional Unemployment Insurance and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program – not the $600 enhanced payment that ended July 31, 2020. Do not count your waiting week to determine whether or not you are current.
    • You may be eligible if you never applied for or were denied unemployment.
    • You may be eligible if you are not current on unemployment benefits but have since returned to work.

Here is a link to the new emergencychecks.oregon.gov website.  It will get you to the application form (in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese) and links to the financial institutions where you can pick up your check. 

If you’re interested and think you may be eligible, take a look at the application form itself.  It provides a lot of information about eligibility.

Those who need personal assistance can call 211.

And here’s a press release from the NW Credit Union Association describing their role in this effort.

If it provides those who are struggling with a little bit of quick help, this program will have achieved its purpose.  Please let me know if you are encountering any difficulties negotiating the process.

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 301. Here is the breakdown by county for today:

Benton (4)

Clackamas (32)

Clatsop (1)

Columbia (2)

Deschutes (1)

Douglas (2)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (18)

Jefferson (5)

Josephine (2)

Klamath (2)

Lane (7)

Lincoln (4)

Linn (6)

Malheur (7)

Marion (54)

Morrow (5)

Multnomah (57)

Polk (5)

Sherman (1)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (19)

Union (3)

Wasco (1)

Washington (50)

Yamhill (12)

And The Deaths

Oregon’s 409th COVID-19 death is an 86-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on July 27 and died on August 17, at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Oregon’s 410th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old woman in Baker County who tested positive on August 9 and died on August 16, in her residence.

Oregon’s 411th COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on August 12 and died on August 19, at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend.

Oregon’s 412th COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man in Linn County who tested positive on July 11 and died on August 19. More information about location of death is being confirmed.

Additional Graphs:

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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 (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.

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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,

dembrow signature

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