October 12th COVID-19 and Wildfires Update

Michael Dembrow

October 12, 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.

We’re starting to see a trend of declining COVID case numbers.  Today’s reported number of new COVID cases is much lower than it was last week when we were seeing record numbers.  In addition, no new deaths were reported. Good news, obviously.  And no new cases reported in Wheeler County!

We’ll see what the coming days bring.

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

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA reports that 896 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID since Friday, an average of 299 cases per day. The cumulative total since the beginning of the pandemic is 35,581.
  • Total Tests: The number of reported tests has increased by 14,539, an average of 4,846 per day. The cumulative total is now 743,369.
  • Ratio: The percentage of positive test results for the last three days in Oregon is 6.2%.  The national ratio today is 4.3%.
  • Deaths: I’m happy once again to report 0 additional deaths due to the coronavirus today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon remains at 599.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports 63 new COVID hospitalizations since Friday, an average of 21 per day. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic is now 2,804.
  • 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.  The cumulative number of presumed positives is 1,886.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently with COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 220 (8 more than Friday). Of those, 154 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 162 (5 more than Friday)
    • Other Available Beds: 643 (56 more than Friday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 55 (6 more than Friday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 21 (3 more than Friday).
    • Available Ventilators: 775 (1 more than Friday).
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  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • Schools in the small town of Nyssa in Malheur County has had some limited in-person instruction. The Argus Observer reports that this has resulted in five cases of COVID among staff at Nyssa High School, 4 cases at Nyssa Middle School, and one case at Nyssa Elementary to date.  The high school and elementary school have each had one COVID case among students.
    • Today’s edition of the Oregonian’s Beat Check podcast provides a useful overview of the state of the economy in Oregon at this point in the pandemic
    • Again, if you know someone who has been displaced by the wildfires and is concerned about how they will vote, the Secretary of State has an FAQ page for people who need help.  Remember, the deadline for registering to vote is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13.

Monday Wildfire Update

ODF reports today that thanks to the rains we’re experiencing, they were able to lower the fire danger levels (to Level 2) over the weekend.  Only one new wildfire start was reported yesterday in Oregon, and no new acres burned were reported.

Below again are two tables that reveal the progress made in containment of the six remaining major fires over the last 24 hours.  You’ll notice some slight reductions in the reported number of acres burned.  This is the result of closer investigation and further analysis.

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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.

Wildfire Impact/Recovery Updates

Oregon Emergency Management has released an update to the wildfire recovery efforts. It includes some focused information for those with wells on their damaged properties.  Here are some other highlights:

  • The number of fatalities (9) and missing persons (1) remains the same.
  • The number of residences destroyed is now 3,992. More than 1,400 structures other than residences have also been destroyed.
  • A total of 10,849 Oregonians have now registered with FEMA for individual assistance (an increase of more than a thousand over the weekend), currently approved for $17.4 million.
  • Again, if you know of anyone who has NOT yet registered, please direct them to the following:

Wildfire Informational Resources

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 222.  The numbers reported for Lane County are fortunately way down.  Here is the breakdown by county for today:

Clackamas (13)

Clatsop (1)

Columbia (1)

Curry (2)

Deschutes (5)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (17)

Jefferson (1)

Josephine (1)

Lane (31)

Linn (7)

Marion (21)

Multnomah (44)

Polk (1)

Umatilla (12)

Wasco (5)

Washington (40)

Yamhill (19)

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.

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