November 2nd COVID-19 Update

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 11/02/2020 08:47 PM PST
Michael Dembrow

November 2, 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.

I’m afraid that we’re still waiting for the recent spike in new COVID cases to recede.  OHA reported another day with more than 550 new positive tests and presumed positive cases today.  If we just look at the positive test results, the average for the last three days is just under 500 positives, and the positivity rate was just under 9%. 

These higher numbers will likely lead to more hospitalizations (and deaths) over the next month.  That will put added strain on our hospital system.  In order to help track that, I’m adding a couple of new graphs today that show available hospital beds over time.

For now, though, I’m happy to report that our number of newly-reported COVID hospitalizations and deaths has gone down.  That could be a function of slower reporting over the weekend. 

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything you read here.

TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • Positive Cases: OHA reports today that 1,497 additional Oregonians have tested positive since Friday, an average of 499 per day. The cumulative total for those testing positive since the beginning of the pandemic is 43,633.
  • Total Tests: The number of reported tests has increased by 16,870 since Friday, an average of 5,623 per day. The cumulative total of positive and negative tests since the beginning of the pandemic is now 869,555.
  • Ratio: The percentage of total tests that have been positive since Friday is 8.9%.  The national ratio today is 6.3%.
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to have to report 1 additional COVID death today. You can read about the Oregonian we lost further down in the newsletter. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 692.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports 47 new COVID hospitalizations since Friday, an average of 16 per day. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID is now 3,251.
  • 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 total number of those counted as presumed positives is 2,345.
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently with COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 234 (23 more than Friday). Of those, 165 have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 175 (same as Friday)
    • Other Available Beds: 749 (74 more than Friday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 74 (13 more than Friday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 27 (4 more than Friday).
    • Available Ventilators: 747 (same as Friday).
  • Dashboard:
  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • OHA has updated a report analyzing the scope of pediatric COVID-19 cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic. The report observes that while pediatric case counts are getting higher (especially among those 12-17 years old), and they are transmitting the disease to others, young people are themselves still far less likely than adults to develop severe symptoms. Only 1.3 percent pediatric patients have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, compared to 8 percent of adults.

Tracking Hospital Capacity

Several media outlets have been reporting on concerns expressed by OHA that if our present increases in COVID cases continue, we will inevitably be looking at hospital bed shortages by December.  That is indeed a concern.  If the statistic mentioned in the above news item (that 8% of adults testing positive for COVID eventually develop severe symptoms that require hospitalization) continues to hold true and the case counts continue to increase, our cushion of available beds will be compromised. 

I’ve decided to start including graphs tracking bed availability over time in the newsletter. I’ve been including the number of available ICU and non-ICU beds each day, but this will allow us to see trends over two-week periods.  I hope they help you see what’s going on.

Here are the two new graphs.  After today I’ll include them at the bottom of the newsletter with the other graphs.

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More on the COVID-19 Temporary Leave Program

The Governor’s Office reported today that more than 2,000 COVID-affected Oregonians have received or have been approved to receive benefits that help them quarantine or self-isolate to prevent the spread of the disease.  It focuses on Oregonians who do not have access to paid sick leave.  It provides $120 per day for up to 10 days.  More than $2 million has already gone out. 

Legislators received a request today from the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), which oversees the program, to help spread the word that benefit funding is still available for those who need it.  Here’s their message:

The COVID-19 Temporary Paid Leave Program is available to people who need to quarantine or isolate because of COVID-19 exposure or are experiencing symptoms and need to get a medical diagnosis. The program is for people who do not qualify for COVID-19-related paid sick leave or access to COVID-19-related paid time off. Additional qualifications include confirmations that the applicant is:

  • Working in a business or at a job site in Oregon at the time of application;
  • Expected to earn less than $60,000 individually or $120,000 jointly in 2020;
  • Not able to work (including telework) because of the need to quarantine or isolate;
  • Not seeking or using benefits from similar COVID-19 quarantine relief programs, unemployment insurance, or workers’ compensation in Oregon or another state;
  • Not seeking or using other forms of employer-provided paid for the same time period; 
  • Not laid off or furloughed at the time of application; and
  • Has notified their employer of the need to quarantine or isolate.

Qualified workers will receive a $120 per-day payment for up to 10 working days ($1,200 total), for the time they need to quarantine or isolate. Because the available funds are limited, the program is available only to quarantine periods that were in place on or after Sept. 16. Applicants can claim only one quarantine period.

Similar to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), self-employed Oregonians do not qualify for benefits.  

For more information or to apply, go to oregon.gov/covidpaidleave, or call 833-685-0850 (toll-free) or 503-947-0130 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The website also has an eligibility quiz (available in English, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, and Simplified Chinese) to help people who are not sure if they qualify.

The online application is available in English, Spanish, and Russian. Those who do not have access to the internet can call 833-685-0850 (toll-free) or 503-947-0130. Those who need help in another language can call 503-947-0131, with additional information available at http://dcbspage.org/FFE7U.

Monday Wildfire Recovery/Response Update

ODF has not reported any changes in  wildfire containment levels today.  You can find maps and up-to-the-minute details on the individual fires at OEM’s State of Oregon Fires and Hotspots Dashboard.

The Oregon Emergency Management has just sent us its latest update on wildfire response. Here are the updated statistics regarding Human Impacts:

  • The number of fatalities (9) and missing persons (1) remains the same.
  • The number of residences reported destroyed remains at 4,009. More than 1,400 structures other than residences have also been destroyed.
  • According to the Red Cross, the number of Oregonians in emergency housing has continued to go down over the last few days. 1,011 Oregonians now remain in emergency housing.  Of those, 20 are living in RVs and tents, and 991 are in hotels/motels and other short-term settings.  There are no evacuees living in indoor congregate shelters any longer.
  • The number of Oregonians who have registered with FEMA for individual assistance has continued to increase and is currently at 24,143. FEMA has already approved for $23 million in assistance grants.
  • Still, if you know of anyone who has NOT yet registered, please direct them the following:

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 for today is 557. Two-thirds of today’s new cases are a from the Portland Tri-County area, with a record 199 from Multnomah County alone.  Here is the breakdown by county for today:

Benton (1)

Clackamas (93)

Clatsop (3)

Columbia (1)

Coos (1)

Crook (2)

Curry (4)

Deschutes (30)

Douglas (6)

Jackson (17)

Jefferson (1)

Klamath (1)

Lake (1)

Lane (12)

Lincoln (1)

Linn (11)

Malheur (7)

Marion (60)

Multnomah (199)

Polk (11)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (13)

Union (1)

Wasco (5)

Washington (71)

Yamhill (4)

And the Death

Oregon’s 692nd COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct.24 and died on Oct.25, in her residence.

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.

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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