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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, where we celebrate the service and sacrifice of those that so selflessly protect our country. My father and my late husband Cliff both served in our Armed Forces, and now my nephew serves in the Navy. I honor everyone that serves our country, and the family and communities that support them. Thank you veterans and military families!
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) will hold their annual Veterans Day Celebration virtually this year. The Statewide Veterans Day Celebration begins at 11:00 AM on November 11 and will be viewable on ODVA’s Facebook page.
ODVA is partnering with AARP for a virtual town hall from 2:00 to 3:00 PM on November 12. ODVA representatives will be on-hand to discuss and answer questions about benefits and programs available to help veterans. To register for the event or for more information, contact Carmel Snyder at 541-525-8123 or email csnyder@aarp.org.
Fond Memories of Veteran's Day in 2019, looking forward to virtual celebrations this year
I hope I will get to meet with more Veteran advocates like these gentlemen soon! (Photo with Veterans of Foreign Wars, taken during the 2019 long session)
- As I mentioned in my Friday Newsletter, Governor Brown has instituted a 2 week “Pause” on social activity for counties experiencing high levels of COVID-19. The pause starts Wednesday, November 11th. Counties with a case rate above 200 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 have been placed on the pause. We must all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19. The counties required to pause are: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Marion, Baker, Jackson, Malheur, Umatilla, and Union. The two-week pause measures include:
- Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
- Pausing long-term care facility visits that take place indoors to protect staff and residents.
- Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
- Reducing the maximum capacity of other indoor activities to 50 people (includes gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools and museums).
- Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than six people total 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 six people in your social gathering circle.
- Yesterday, my colleagues and I on the Legislative Emergency Board approved another $128 million in aid for Oregonians affected by COVID-19. Among the approved funds, was $35 million for Project Turnkey, a public/private partnership which will support the purchase of distressed motels and other properties to be used as shelter and transitional housing for individuals who have lost housing due to COVID-19. The other half of this request, which was targeted for wildfire impacted communities, passed earlier this month. I am so glad that we were able to approve this innovative project to be used to serve all Oregonians. Project Turnkey has already shown great promise in Wildfire impacted areas, and I am eager to see it implemented in COVID-19 impacted areas. Other highlights from the Emergency Board meeting include:
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Governor Brown Press Conference on Hospital Capacity: Today, Governor Brown was joined by Health experts from across the state to share an update on the current status of hospital capacity in Oregon. We are seeing large increases in COVID-19 hospital admissions which could soon put a strain on our ability to provide other necessary care, like scheduled surgeries and other treatments that have already experienced pandemic related delays. It is critical to the health and safety of all Oregoninas that we abide by new and existing health measures, so we can maintain our hospital capacity and save lives. You can view the press conference here (ASL and closed captioning provided).
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Employment Update: The Employment Department has announced that they hope to distribute “waiting week” payments to unemployed Oregonians by Thanksgiving. Read more from the Oregonian, here.
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Education Updates:
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Hillsboro School District Plans for Updated Metrics: The Hillsboro School District School Board met last night in a Special Board Session to discuss the new school metrics recently released by the Oregon Department of Education. Here are some highlights:
- Grades 3-12 remain in Comprehensive Distance Learning through the end of Semester 1 (January 29, 2021)
- Continue preparing for the possibility of students in grades PreK-2 returning to in-person learning in mid-January
- If Washington County metrics and the calendar (holidays and natural breaks) allow
- If this is a possibility, it will be communicated to staff and families no later than mid-December 2020
- Increase the number of students participating in Limited In-Person Instruction (LIPI) according to established criteria until we return K-12
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Facebook Live on School Metrics, Thursday at 12:00pm: Oregon Health Authority is hosting this live virtual event to answer parents' questions about the updated school metrics and what they mean for school in Oregon during COVID-19. Join on Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 p.m. to have your questions answered by Oregon Department of Education Director, Colt Gill, and our Deputy State Health Officer and Epidemiologist, Dr. Thomas Jeanne. Visit here to watch the livestream event.
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Oregon OSHA Adopts Temporary Rule Addressing COVID-19 in All Workplaces:
- Oregon OSHA has adopted a temporary rule that combats the spread of coronavirus in all workplaces by requiring employers to carry out a comprehensive set of risk-reducing measures.
- The rule will take effect Nov. 16, with certain parts phased in, and is expected to remain in effect until May 4, 2021. It is a continuation of the guidance produced by the Oregon Health Authority and enforced in the workplace by Oregon OSHA, including physical distancing, use of face coverings, and sanitation.
- In the weeks ahead, Oregon OSHA will provide educational resources to help employers and workers understand and apply the requirements. Already, the division offers consultation services that provide no-cost assistance with safety and health programs and technical staff who help employers understand requirements. The COVID-19 Hazards Poster – provided by the division and required by the temporary rule to be posted – is now available in both English and Spanish. And the division is providing a user-friendly overview table of the temporary rule, summarizing the requirements and how they apply, and showing the effective dates of the phased-in provisions.
- Following adoption of its temporary COVID-19 rule for all workplaces, Oregon OSHA continues to pursue permanent rulemaking that would provide a structure for responding to potential future disease outbreaks. More information is available on the division’s infectious disease rulemaking page and on its COVID-19 resources page.
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Paid Family Medical Leave Town Hall: The Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (PFMLI) team invites you to join their upcoming Small Employers Virtual Town Hall from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17th. The Small Employers Town Hall is part of a series of virtual town halls the Oregon Employment Department has launched for the PFMLI program. These virtual town halls serve as listening sessions for the PFMLI team to gather public information as part of its policies and administrative rules process. The Small Employer Virtual Town Hall will focus on assistance grants to help with the cost of hiring temporary replacement workers or other related costs; and job protection provisions, including continuation of health benefits and restoration to equivalent or similar positions.
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Keeping Kids Safe Online-Webinar from the Washington County District Attorney’s Office: Children are more connected to the internet than ever before, and despite their tech literacy they can easily be taken advantage of online. Fortunately, there are steps parents can take to keep their kids safe online. Senior Deputy District Attorney Andy Pulver leads the Child Abuse Team for the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. Join Mr.Pulver on December 10th from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for a virtual discussion of the latest threats kids face and how parents can guard against them. Register here.
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National Numbers:
- Confirmed Cases: 10,036,463 (up 122,910 from yesterday)
- Deaths: 237,731 (up 704 from yesterday)
- Cases in the last 7 days: 801,000
- These national numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can view their national and state by state data here.
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Oregon Status Report: Oregon now has 51,909 total cases (confirmed and presumptive) of COVID-19.
- Today we have 771 new confirmed and presumptive cases, and 3 new deaths.
- Monday: 723 cases, 4 deaths, 119 cases in Washington County
- Sunday: 874 cases, 1 deaths, 104 cases in Washington County
- Saturday: 988 cases, 13 deaths, 133 cases in Washington County
- A total of 737 Oregonians have died from COVID-19.
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Washington County still has one of the highest case counts at 7,014 confirmed cases, including 95 new cases today. You can review on-going updates from OHA by clicking on the table below.
- It is not just our case numbers that are rising to troubling levels, our test positivity rate is now 14.4% (nearly doubled from a couple weeks ago) and our active hospitalizations have increased to 269. You can read more on this from the Oregonians here.
- The Oregon Health Authority recently provided a Public Health Indicators Dashboard to enable communities across Oregon to monitor COVID-19 in the state.The dashboard, which will be updated weekly on Thursdays, provides a transparent report that presents complex epidemiological data in an interactive, easy-to-understand way on a state and county level.
Table showing Oregon case, testing and demographic data, link to more information
OEM has put together this list of contacts to help speed up the process of replacing these documents:
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Green cards: Phone (800)-375-5283; Website: www.uscis.gov
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Medicare cards: Phone: (800)-772-1213; (TTY) (800)-325-0778 Website: www.medicare.gov
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Military records Phone: 866-272-6272 Website: www.archives.gov/contact/
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Passport Phone: 877-487-2778; (TTY) 888-874-7793 Website: travel.state.gov
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Social Security card Phone: 800-772-1213; (TTY) 800-325-0778 Website: www.ssa.gov
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U.S. Savings Bonds Phone: 844-284-2676 Website: www.treasurydirect.gov
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U.S. tax returns Phone: 800-829-1040 Website: www.irs.gov
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Birth, death, marriage, domestic partnership, divorce certificates Phone: 888-896-4988 Website: www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/Birthdeathcertificates
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Driver’s license, auto titles and registration, ID cards Phone: 503-945-5000 Website: www.oregon.gov/odot
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SNAP (Oregon Trail Card) Website: www.oregon.gov/DHS/Assistance/Food-Benefits
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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
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Real estate and property - Contact your county government.
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Credit cards - Contact your credit card company directly.
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Credit reports from Equifax, Experian, TransUnion Phone: 877-322-8228 Website: www.annualcreditreport.com
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Insurance documents - Check with your insurance agent.
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Medical records - Call your doctor or your medical insurance company; medical and prescription records are tracked electronically.
The Governor’s office has put together a Wildfire Resources page that you can access from the Governor’s home page. It has links to many of the most important updates about the status of fires and resources for evacuees. This website will be updated regularly.
Legal Resources: Oregon State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Program, Oregon lawyers, through the Oregon State Bar, are partnering with FEMA and the American Red Cross to provide legal assistance on FEMA claims, contract claims, insurance claims, landlord-tenant matters and more.
The Department of Forestry’s Wildfire Response and Recovery Overview has ongoing updates about firefighting efforts, damage reports, and more.
FEMA Updates: FEMA has provided several different Fact Sheets and resources for accessing benefits, determining eligibility and avoiding scams.
Employers and Employees
Education Links
Local Government
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
View Past Updates, Share and Subscribe:
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 (http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain), click on “News and Information,” and you’ll find them all there. You can also share this site with your friends and loved ones, so they can view past newsletters, and subscribe to future updates.
Yours truly,
 Representative Susan McLain
House District 29
email: Rep.SusanMcLain@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1429
address: 900 Court St NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/mclain
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