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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I’m ending the week with an additional newsletter to provide an update on today’s news from Governor Brown, the Oregon Department of Education, and the Oregon Health Authority about changes to the metrics for students to be able to return to in-person instruction.
But first, I want to ask all of you to limit in-person social gatherings as we head into the Halloween weekend. Today, Oregon had 600 new reported coronavirus cases. This is the first time we’ve hit the 600-case threshold in a single day, breaking the previous record of 575 cases that was set on Thursday.
Hanging out with friends or extended family is when we’re most likely to let our guards down and accidentally transmit the virus. I know it’s tiring to hear this kind of news over and over again. Yet, it’s more important than ever that we return to the kind of caution we showed early in the pandemic, which made Oregon one of the best states in the country at stopping the spread and flattening the curve.
Today’s announcement on new metrics for returning students to in-person learning acknowledges the challenges that come with the isolation of distance learning, as well as the impact it can have on families. The change in guidance will likely allow thousands of students across the state to return to in-person learning soon.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports here that 15 counties would be eligible to open schools for all grade levels under the plan, and The Oregonian reports here that infection rates are too high for reopening in 12 counties. Portland Public Schools released a statement here noting the new metrics give the district a more realistic chance of offering a hybrid learning model or full in-person instruction in the second semester, but the latest data and trends in Multnomah County prevent that from happening sooner.
Here is a list of where counties likely stand in this process based on current data. Please note these categories are subject to change.
I’m hopeful, based on studies of in-person learning in European countries, that this can be done safely if the schools that choose this path set up a controlled environment that closely follows health and safety protocols established by the state.
Here is an overview of the changes:
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Measurement period, 2-week average: County metrics will be measured for a single 2-week period, instead of three 1-week periods. For smaller counties with low case counts, a small change in the number of cases in one week could have prevented schools from opening under the previous metrics.
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Remove statewide positivity metric: Holding all districts to a statewide positivity metric has led some schools to remain closed even when community metrics are at safer levels. Now only a county’s positivity rate will be used.
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Elementary school (K-6): Elementary schools provide the best opportunity for maintaining small cohorts. This group of students also has the most difficulty with comprehensive distance learning and individual study. Under previous metrics, only K-3 students were allowed to return to school first, meaning that elementary schools could reopen in some districts, but 4th, 5th, and 6th graders could not return to their school. Under the new guidance, students in grades K-6 can return so long as strict protocols are followed and with consultation with local public health officials.
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New metrics for in-person instruction: A full guidance document explaining the new metrics for in-person instruction is available at this link: Ready Schools, Safe Learners.
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Local decision-making: School districts, in consultation with local public health officials, will make final decisions about when schools can move to in-person instruction. The state will advise school districts during that process and will confirm with school districts when their county has satisfied the required metrics for the return to in-person instruction. The Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon Health Authority, and Oregon OSHA will work together to ensure that school districts are meeting state standards for reducing risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the learning and working environment for students and staff.
These updated metrics are based on data from school districts across the country that have become available since Oregon first issued school metrics in August. These changes were made in consultation with the Governor’s Healthy Schools Reopening Council and the Governor’s Medical Advisory Panel.
If you believe a school is not in compliance with the safety requirements, you can file a named or anonymous complaint with Oregon OSHA at 1-833-604-0884 or online at: https://osha.oregon.gov/workers/Pages/index.aspx.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I provided an update on how Oregonians who are eligible for federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) benefits can self-certify in order to keep those benefits. I included a direct link to the LWA self-certification page, but it turns out that link did not stay active.
Instead, here is a step-by-step approach for how to access the LWA self-certification page.
You must self-certify that your unemployment or partial unemployment is due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. Go to this link Online Claims System and then scroll to this green button:
Certification is the one-time step required by the federal government for claimants who receive Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits for a COVID-19 reason.
Please let my office know if you are having any issues with the self-certification process.
- The Oregon Health Authority reported 600 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 44,389. The OHA also reported two more deaths, meaning 675 Oregonians have died of the coronavirus. 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
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