October 5th COVID-19 and Wildfire Update

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 10/05/2020 08:44 PM PDT
Michael Dembrow

October 5, 2020

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

No COVID deaths reported today in Oregon, I’m happy to say.  But we do seem to be plateaued right now at a higher case number, something that we’re also seeing in other parts of the country. 

And more good news about progress being made by firefighters.

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything in this newsletter.

a

TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA reports that 843 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID since Friday, an average of 281 per day. The cumulative total since the beginning of the pandemic is 33,329.
  • Total Tests: The number of reported tests has increased by 11,676 since Friday, an average of 3,892 per day. The cumulative total is now 707,292.
  • Ratio: The percentage of positive test results in Oregon since Friday is 7.2%.  The national ratio today is 5.1%.
  • Deaths: I’m happy to report no additional deaths due to the coronavirus today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon remains at 572.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports an additional 39 COVID hospitalizations since Friday, an average of 13 per day. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic is now 2,657.
  • 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.  There are currently 1,729 Oregonians who have been presumed positive for COVID-19.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently w COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 184 (8 more than Friday). Of those, 132 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 179 (7 more than Friday)
    • Other Available Beds: 741 (76 more than Friday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 43 (5 fewer than Friday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 18 (1 more than Friday).
    • Available Ventilators: 811 (1 more than Friday).
  • Dashboards
  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • The Governor will be holding a press conference tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11:15, focusing on COVID and COVID response in Oregon. You can watch it live or archived.
    • Oregon has been suffering from a lack of testing capacity for some time now. That may change soon if the federal government comes through on a promise to deploy rapid testing to the states, including ours.  We’ve already received 15,000 of these new tests (which use a technology known as antigen testing).  We’re apparently being promised 65,000-80,000 per week (which would nearly triple our current capacity).  You can read more about in this article in the Oregonian.

Monday Wildfire Update

Favorable weather conditions have allowed firefighters to continue to strengthen containment lines and prevent any substantial increases in acres burned.  Increasing winds today were causes for concern, but we won’t learn about the effects of them till tomorrow.  Yesterday did see some flareups within the contained perimeter of the Beachie Creek Fire, which led to the successful use of aircraft dumping water on the blazes and containing them.

Below again are two tables that reveal the progress made over the last 24 hours.

b

Again, for maps and up-to-the-minute details on the individual fires, I’d direct you to OEM’s State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard.

You can find an up-to-the-moment status report on road closures from ODOT’s Trip Check tool.

Additional Wildfire-Response Statistics and Information:

  • I’m happy to report that the number of confirmed fatalities remains at 9, and the number of those confirmed missing remains at 3.
  • The number of Residences destroyed: 3,124
    • Single Family: 1,069
    • Multi-Family (Apartment): 197
    • Manufactured Homes: 1858
  • Other structures destroyed: 1,400
  • More than 500 additional Oregonians successfully registered with FEMA for individual assistance over the weekend, bringing the total number to 7,383 Oregonians who have already had their applications approved. Nearly $16 million dollars has already been approved for distribution.
  • Assistance provided by FEMA for homeowners can include grants for repairs to make their primary home habitable. Rental assistance is available to pay for temporary housing for homeowners and renters.
  • Assistance can also help with other immediate disaster-related needs like replacing essential household items, medical and dental expenses, diapers, etc.
  • In addition to FEMA grants, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-cost disaster loans for homeowners, renters, and businesses. This includes Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) for small businesses. Anyone seeking an SBA disaster loan need to register with FEMA first.
  • Again, if you know of anyone who has NOT yet registered, please direct them to the following:

A Message Regarding Auto Insurance

We just received the following message from the Office of Emergency Management for anyone whose automobile was damaged by wildfire:

Damage to most vehicles is not covered under a homeowners policy. Comprehensive coverage on your auto policy may pay for damage (minus any deductible) caused by fire, smoke, or ash. Contact your auto insurance carrier for any questions or need regarding filing a claim.

If your title or other documents were destroyed, your insurance company should work with Driver and Motor Vehicles (DMV) or your auto lender to get proof of ownership. You may need to sign a DMV power-of-attorney form to release your car title to your insurance company.

Contact a state Insurance Consumer Advocate at dfr.oregon.gov or by calling 1-888-877-4894.

Wildfire Informational Resources

Here again are some other resources that I would recommend:

Additional News Items on the Wildfires

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 288.  Here is the breakdown by county for today:

Benton (2)

Clackamas (25)

Columbia (5)

Coos (4)

Deschutes (11)

Douglas (2)

Jackson (14)

Jefferson (3)

Josephine (6)

Klamath (3)

Lane (33)

Linn (7)

Malheur (8)

Marion (52)

Morrow (1)

Multnomah (61)

Polk (3)

Umatilla (7)

Wasco (1)

Washington (35)

Yamhill (5)

Additional Graphs:

cdef

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.

g

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