Coronavirus Update: New Restrictions Start Wednesday

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House Speaker Tina Kotek

Coronavirus Update: New Restrictions Start Wednesday

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Here’s a brief update as we head into the weekend.

I've been highlighting the disturbing rise in coronavirus cases throughout the state and the need to prepare for changes in the weeks ahead to protect ourselves and others. While we’re still doing better than other states, we have reset our own records for daily cases and hospitalizations and we’re at a critical stage in our fight against COVID-19.

Today, Governor Brown announced a new set of temporary measures in at least five counties to reduce the spread of the virus. These new measures will go into effect next Wednesday, November 11, and be in place through Wednesday, November 25. The counties affected are Jackson, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, and Umatilla. These are the counties where rates are above 200 cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with less than 30,000 people.

Governor Brown identified five additional counties that are on the cusp and could also see the same set of temporary measures. Those counties are Baker, Clackamas, Linn, Union and Washington. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will examine their COVID-19 metrics on Monday to determine if those counties should be included.

Here are the temporary measures that go into effect next Wednesday in at least Jackson, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, and Umatilla counties:

  • All businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
  • A pause on long-term care facility visits to protect staff and residents.
  • A reduction in maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continued encouragement of outdoor dining and take out.
  • A reduction in other indoor activity maximum capacities to 50 people (for example: gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools, museums).
  • Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than 6 people if the gathering includes those from outside your household, reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period), and keeping the same 6 people in your social gathering circle.

The two months we were all under Stay Home, Save Lives was effective in stopping the spread and flattening the curve to keep our hospital systems from being overwhelmed. We need to do more – again.

These public health interventions have consequences for workers and businesses who are already struggling. I hope we don’t have to go further to fight this new surge in the pandemic. Governor Brown made clear today, however, that further closures are imminent if we don’t control the spread.

The OHA public health director Rachael Banks noted that our Region 1 intensive care unit capacity is now at 90%. There are now 217 Oregonians actively hospitalized with COVID-19 infections. And as we enter another flu season, state epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger noted that COVID-19 has a death rate 20 times higher than the flu.

Even if you live outside the five counties currently affected by these temporary measures, please keep all of this in mind. Not being on the list is not reason to throw caution to the wind. We all need to get back into the mindset we had in the early days of the pandemic. We can – and need to – work together to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Finally, please remember this advice from the OHA:

  • The safest activity is to stay home.
  • If you can, hold virtual dinners and celebrations instead of the traditional holiday gatherings.
  • Limit your exposure to non-household members for 14 days before visiting those who are at higher risk of severe infection.
  • Stay home when you're sick and avoid others.
  • Wear a face covering and physically distance from at-risk family members and anyone who does not live with you.
  • Wash or sanitize your hands frequently.

The Latest News

  • The Oregon Health Authority announced 770 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the statewide total of new and presumptive cases to 48,608. The OHA also reported six more deaths, meaning 716 Oregonians have died of the coronavirus. You can click the images below for links to interactive data tables about coronavirus in Oregon.

OHA COVID-19 Update 110620

OHA COVID-19 Epi Curve 110620

OHA COVID-19 County Map 110620.JPG

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

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