Coronavirus and Wildfire Update: Progress on Fires, Troubling COVID-19 Data

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Governor Brown held a press conference yesterday, noting that despite the immense tragic consequences from the recent wildfires, the death toll from the disaster is not on the scale that state officials had originally feared. The Oregonian covered the press conference here and you can watch it in full here.

State officials have once again made it clear that people should not fly their drones in areas with active fires. The presence of these drones makes it impossible for aircrafts fighting these blazes to operate in those areas.

There is much work ahead to rebuild communities destroyed or damaged by the wildfires. Many Oregonians need housing and shelter support and, as Oregon Public Broadcasting reports here, two people are still missing. My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by this disaster, and we know there are ripple effects still to come.

Wildfire Support: SNAP and Unemployment

For those who have been directly impacted by the wildfires, the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that current Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who have lost food purchased with SNAP benefits due to storms, flooding, power outages, fires or other misfortunes may be eligible to have their SNAP benefits replaced.

To be eligible, for replacement benefits, households must:

• Be current SNAP recipients, and
• Have experienced other household misfortunes that have caused the loss of food.

DHS also notes that SNAP recipients must request replacement benefits within 10 calendar days of experiencing food loss. Once approved, replacement benefits are issued to current recipients using their existing EBT card. To request replacement benefits, current SNAP recipients can call their local branch office.

Additionally, The Oregonian reports here about new Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits for individuals who lost their job, had their work hours substantially reduced, or are unemployed self-employed individuals as a direct result of the recent wildfires and wind storms that have been taking place since September 7^th.

As the Oregon Employment Department notes in its release about the benefits program, workers in Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, and Marion counties also must not qualify for regular state unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), other extension programs, or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. DUA is available to eligible individuals for weeks of unemployment beginning September 13, 2020. Benefits for this federal program will be available until March 20, 2021.

Weekly COVID-19 Data on Wrong Track

While there have been positive developments on the firefighting front, there are unfortunately some distressing updates in our fight against the coronavirus. The Oregon Health Authority released its COVID-19 Weekly Report yesterday, which can be read in full here.

The number of cases and hospitalizations both rose, as did test positivity, while deaths (a lagging indicator for virus transmission) decreased. Here are some details from the report:

• From Monday, September 14, through Sunday, September 20, OHA recorded 1,511 new cases of COVID-19 infection – up 17% from last week’s tally of 1,294.
• The number of Oregonians newly tested rose 8%, to 18,840, and the percentage of tests that were positive rose from 5.6% to 6.2%.
• There were 116 Oregonians hospitalized, up from 83 in the previous week.
• There were 18 Oregonians reported to have died in association with COVID-19, compared to 29 last week.
• The 30,995 cases reported in Oregon to date computes to 732 cases of COVID-19 infection per 100,000 Oregonians. Of these, 529 Oregonians (1.7% of all cases reported to date) have died, giving a mortality rate of 12.5 deaths per 100,000 Oregonians.

Oregon has done a good job in comparison to many other states in containing the spread of the virus. But this is another clear indicator that we still have a way to go. The Daily Astorian reports here that officials in Clatsop County have attributed a recent surge in cases to both Labor Day gatherings and “fatigue” from the virus.

I empathize with the fatigue and the desire to get out and be with people. I really do. But we can’t let up on our fight. A lack of attention to our pandemic fundamentals (hand washing, mask-wearing and distancing) has consequences. The Oregonian reports here that today's daily case count is our state’s highest since mid-July and that we had an 8.4% test positivity rate.

Here are some additional highlights from the weekly report, along with some helpful data tables below:

• The age group with the highest incidence of reported infection continues to be 20–29-year-olds.
• Persons under 30 years of age have accounted for 37% of reported cases but only 9% of hospitalizations and 0.6% of deaths.
• Reported COVID-19 case rates decrease in subsequent decades of life, but hospitalization and death rates increase with age: 247 (48%) of the 511 deaths have been among persons at least 80 years of age, and 377 (74%) in persons 70 and older.
• Of 30,995 cases, 23,712 (76.5%) reported having signs and symptoms of COVID-19. The most commonly reported symptoms are cough (50.9%) and headache (48.3%).

The Latest News

• The Multnomah County Commission voted today to extend its pandemic eviction ban to January 8, 2021. Oregon Public Broadcasting covered the vote here, and the County has its own update here.
• The Oregonian has more information here on the $25.7 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars that have gone to help arts and cultural organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Legislative Emergency Board allocated these funds in July.
• The Latinx community, the majority demographic of Oregon’s agricultural workforce, have been disproportionately impacted by coronavirus. A new study highlights the risks faced by farmworkers during the pandemic, as the Statesman Journal reports here.
• Another major COVID-19 outbreak has occurred at a Pacific Seafood processing facility, this time in Warrenton, as The Daily Astorian reports here.
• The News-Review has an uplifting story here about teens in Roseburg who are delivering food to at-risk communities.
• Check out this conversation that Willamette Week hosted with Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan about the difficult choices facing many families during the pandemic.
• The Oregon Health Authority reported 382 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 31,865. The OHA also reported two more deaths, meaning 539 Oregonians have died of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, the OHA reported 193 cases and six deaths. You can click the images below for links to interactive data tables about coronavirus in Oregon.

To read past newsletters, you can go to this link. For up to date information, please check this link to the Oregon Health Authority where regular updates are posted: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ERD/Pages/News-Releases.aspx

Please email me at Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov if you have specific concerns that have not been addressed by the OHA. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.

Thank you for reading! We will get through this together.

Best,

Tina Kotek

State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House

email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek