|
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The number of new COVID cases reported today (484 cases) is the highest daily number since the pandemic began. The last time we were close to that was two weeks ago, September 25 (457 cases). There’s more on our numbers below.
A spike like this always rings alarm bells for me. It’s a good reminder to stay vigilant and maintain safe practices.
Portland Public Schools (PPS) announced that the district will extend Comprehensive Distance Learning through the second quarter of the school year, which means January 28, 2021. This follows an announcement last month from the Beaverton School District which won’t return to in-person classes until at least February, as The Oregonian covers here.
This is disappointing news, but not entirely unexpected given the path of the pandemic. Our COVID-19 numbers in Multnomah County have simply not improved enough to go back any sooner than that.
The metrics for resuming in-person education at PPS are:
- 10 or fewer cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people in Multnomah County over 7 days for 3 weeks in a row;
- Test positivity of 5% or less in Multnomah County over 7 days for 3 weeks in a row; and
- Test positivity of 5% or less statewide over 7 days for 3 weeks in a row.
The district also noted that at least 20% of staff lives in Clackamas County and Washington County, leading them to consider the metrics and the case trends in those counties as well.
It’s also important to note that there has been a recent increase in coronavirus cases identified at schools that are holding in-person classes. The Oregonian reports here that those week-to-week cases increased from five to 14.
As a reminder, Governor Brown said this week that she and other public health and education officials will be reevaluating state metrics for in-person learning soon. I’ll make sure to keep you updated on this as soon as there is more information.
Earlier this week, the Oregon Health Authority released its COVID-19 Weekly Report, which can be read in full here. Below are the most notable highlights:
- During Monday, September 28, through Sunday, October 4, there were 2,055 new cases of COVID-19 infection – up 3% from last week’s tally of 1,999 and the highest weekly total in eight weeks.
- The number of Oregonians newly tested fell 7%, to 22,548, while the percentage of tests that were positive rose slightly to 6.3%.
- There were 25 Oregonians reported to have died in association with COVID-19, up from 18 last week.
- There were 119 Oregonians hospitalized, down from 143 in the previous week.
- The 35,049 cases reported in Oregon to date computes to 827 cases per 100,000 Oregonians. Of these, 572 – or 1.6% of all cases reported to date – have died in association with COVID-19, giving a mortality rate of 13.5 deaths per 100,000 Oregonians.
- The age group with the highest incidence of reported infection continues to be young adults (20 to 29 years old). People under 30 years of age have accounted for 37% of reported cases but only 9% of hospitalizations and 0.3% of deaths.
We had fewer hospitalizations and deaths, but we also know those are lagging indicators of virus progression. Seeing our testing capacity decrease and test positivity on the rise remains concerning, along with the fact that this was our highest weekly total in eight weeks.
As our testing capacity increases due to the incoming infusion of rapid antigen tests from the federal government, my hope is we can soon be in a better position to reassess the safety of in-person school instruction.
Oregon has been dealing with a housing supply crisis for almost a decade. Despite the progress we’ve made to protect renters and expand housing supply, the historic wildfires are a major setback. It’s heartbreaking to read the stories of Oregonians whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fires.
There’s some good news – the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted a request from Oregon to help provide temporary housing for hundreds of Oregonians displaced by the wildfires. The full release on this development from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) can be found here.
While the implementation of this program is still being finalized, the plan is for residents in Jackson, Linn, and Marion counties who lost their homes in September wildfires to be eligible. Eligibility for this temporary housing relief will be based on immediate need and lack of available rental resources.
To be eligible for direct housing assistance, Oregon wildfire survivors must register with FEMA and reside in Jackson, Linn, or Marion counties. Damage must be to the primary residence and must be a result of the wildfires. FEMA will reach out to individual households who are potentially eligible for direct temporary housing based on the results of their FEMA inspection.
The state also requested direct housing assistance for Douglas, Jackson, Lane, Lincoln, Linn and Marion counties, where FEMA is still evaluating the need for temporary housing assistance.
As a reminder, the Red Cross is still providing assistance to those who need it. Please call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit http://redcross.org if you need support.
Thankfully, the latest update from the Oregon Department of Forestry indicates that fire danger is expected to decrease as the fall continues. Cooler temperatures are forecasted through the end of the week, with another rainy weather event starting across the region Friday night, according to Chief of Fire Protection Doug Grafe.
Finally, if you have lost important documents due to the fires, OEM has put together this list of contacts to help speed up the process of replacing these documents:
Green cards Phone: 800-375-5283 Website: www.uscis.gov
Medicare cards Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778 Website: www.medicare.gov
Military records Phone: 866-272-6272 Website: www.archives.gov/contact/
Passport Phone: 877-487-2778; (TTY) 888-874-7793 Website: travel.state.gov
Social Security card Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778 Website: www.ssa.gov
U.S. Savings Bonds Phone: 844-284-2676 Website: www.treasurydirect.gov
U.S. tax returns Phone: 800-829-1040 Website: www.irs.gov
Birth, death, marriage, domestic partnership, divorce certificates Phone: 888-896-4988 Website: www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Birthdeathcertificates
Driver’s license, auto titles and registration, ID cards Phone: 503-945-5000 Website: www.oregon.gov/odot
SNAP (Oregon Trail Card) Website: www.oregon.gov/DHS/Assistance/Food-Benefits
State taxes (Oregon Dept. of Revenue) Phone: 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222 TTY: All relay calls are accepted. Website: www.oregon.gov/dor
Real estate and property - Contact your county government.
Credit cards - Contact your credit card company directly.
Credit reports from Equifax, Experian, TransUnion Phone: 877-322-8228 Website: www.annualcreditreport.com
Insurance documents - Check with your insurance agent.
Medical records - Call your doctor or your medical insurance company; medical and prescription records are tracked electronically.
- The Oregon Health Authority reported 484 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 36,116. The OHA also reported 10 more deaths, meaning 594 Oregonians have died of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, the OHA recorded 305 cases and two 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
|
