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November 25, 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 I have nothing good to report today. As expected, new COVID hospitalizations and deaths are finally catching up with the big increases in infections that we’ve been experiencing for several weeks. Today’s report includes a record number of new hospitalizations and an ongoing spike in the number of deaths. Over the last two days, we’ve had 41 deaths of Oregonians reported, which not long ago would have constituted the record for an entire week.
Needless to say, everyone is worried that it’s only going to get worse. Thanksgiving celebrations that bring together different households and different generations will inevitably take us to new levels of illness, compromised hospital resources, and lost loved ones. In a further attempt to avoid that, Governor Brown and her medical advisors unveiled a new effort to combat the disease. You’ll find details in today’s newsletter.
These are obviously very difficult and stressful times. We must acknowledge that reality and commit to doing whatever we can to support one another and fight this disease. Yet the proximity of Thanksgiving also reminds us to recognize the things that make us feel grateful and proud in our lives. One of my legislative colleagues will be spending Thanksgiving working an extended shift in the ICU. I’m so proud of her and grateful for the difficult work that she and all those other caregivers and first responders will be doing tomorrow, as they do every day. Where would we be without these people?
Thanksgiving also gives us the space to look at our own lives and work and loved ones and acknowledge them, and I definitely look forward to spending tomorrow doing that. Like many of you, it’s going to be a very different Thanksgiving for us this year. We’ll be spending time with our children and grandchildren and other loved ones—but via Zoom (or Google?). I know that most of you are in a similar situation. It’ll be tough and it’ll be frustrating, but it’ll be safer for everyone this year. And I know there will be plenty of silver linings.
One silver lining will be that we’ll all get the day off from this newsletter tomorrow! It’ll be back on Friday, but let’s all enjoy our time off!
Please stay safe, and let me know if you have any questions about today’s newsletter.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
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Positive Cases: OHA reports today that 1,128 additional Oregonians have tested positive for COVID-19. The cumulative total for those testing positive since the beginning of the pandemic is 65,252.
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Total Tests: The number of reported COVID test results has increased by 4,348. The cumulative total of tests since the beginning of the pandemic is now 1,025,721.
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Ratio: The percentage of total tests that have been reported positive over the last three days is 25.9%. The national ratio today is 10.7%.
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Deaths: I’m sorry to have to report 20 additional COVID deaths today. You can read about the Oregonians we lost further down in the newsletter. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 867.
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Hospitalized: OHA reports a record 86 new COVID hospitalizations. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID is now 4,176.
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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. OHA reports 68 new presumed positives today. The total number of presumed positives has been 3,251.
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Other Hospital Information:
- Patients Currently with COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 532 (2 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 489 have already received a positive test back.
- Available ICU Beds: 146 (8 fewer than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 630 (49 fewer than yesterday).
- ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 118 (2 more than yesterday).
- COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 48 (3 more than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 751 (18 more than yesterday).
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Dashboards:
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Today’s National Numbers:
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Additional Brief Updates:
- OHA released the latest COVID Weekly Report late this afternoon. I’ll provide a detailed summary/analysis in Friday’s newsletter. It covers the week from Monday, November 16, through Sunday, November 22. For now, here are some of the highlights that OHA reports (warning: they’re very troubling):
- 8,687 new cases, a 34% increase over the previous record high.
- Weekly COVID hospitalizations rose to 366, a 26%t increase and the highest weekly yet reported in the pandemic.
- 61 reported COVID-19 reported deaths, nearly doubling the previous week’s total of 31.
- This report includes the new test reporting methodology, which is based on total tests given (rather than total individuals tested), resulting in a higher number of tests. This is now using the same national methodology that I’ve been providing in my daily national reporting (from the COVID Tracking Project), which creates a fairer comparison. The new method consequently shows a huge increase in testing last week: 129,564 (up from the previous week’s 37,651). As a result of the new methodology, the percentage of positive tests went down dramatically—to 7.2%.
Governor and Medical Advisors Release New County Metrics
As expected, the Governor held a Press Conference today to announce her exit plan from the current statewide freeze. The purpose of the current freeze is to drive down social interactions during the Thanksgiving holiday period in order to avoid the worst of the possible consequences feared by medical professionals—including a dramatic worsening of the current strain on hospitals.
This temporary freeze, while necessary, will be hard to maintain over the long haul. While the end of this pandemic may be in sight, now that we have several vaccines being prepared for final approval, it will still be several months before they can be deployed widely. So the Governor and her medical advisors have been working on an exit strategy from the current freeze, a plan with regional variation, with enough built-in flexibility to get us through the long haul.
Joined by OHA Director Pat Allen, State Epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger, and OHSU’s Director of ICU, Dr. David Zonies, the Governor laid out what they’re calling “Oregon’s Risk and Protection Framework.” You can find details on the Governor’s COVID website. It is scheduled to go into effect on December 3, though there may be some modifications made next Monday, November 30, depending on the COVID results that we see from now through the weekend.
You’ll see that the framework divides Oregon counties into four groups: Extreme Risk (Red), High Risk (Brown), Moderate Risk (Tan), and Low Risk (Green). These categories are based on whether COVID cases are increasing, declining, or staying the same. Unfortunately, 21 counties—including the state’s most populous—are currently in the extreme risk category.
In order for the system to remain flexible, responsive to the trajectory of the virus, and transparent, the relevant metrics will be monitored and reported regularly. Once the current assignments go into effect on December 3, they will be in effect for two weeks. In each subsequent two-week period, the Oregon Health Authority will examine and publish county data weekly, but county risk levels will not change until the end of the second week. In the first week, counties will be given Warning Week data to prepare for potential risk level changes. In the second week, county risk levels will be updated based on that week’s data.
As you look at the difference between the new framework and the current freeze (see the end of the newsletter for the current freeze requirements), you’ll see changes beyond the regional variability. One of the most noticeable is a greater distinction between indoor and outdoor activities. Even in Extreme Risk counties, outdoor dining will be able to begin again. Outdoor dining is considered safer than indoor dining, as long as it is truly outdoors (i.e., not surrounded by a tent, which has the same effect of trapping the virus as do indoor venues). Nevertheless, OHA still recommends that people in Extreme Risk counties do take-out and eat in the safety of their homes if they can.
You’ll see a similar distinction between indoor and outdoor recreation and fitness.
Again, the Governor and the medical professionals (especially OHSU’s Dr. Zonies, who is working in the front lines of the incredibly difficult battles being waged against the disease) implored us all to follow the guidelines, wear face coverings whenever in public, and do whatever we can as individuals to support and protect others from the disease.
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 1,189. 60% of today’s reported cases are from outside the Portland Tri-County area. Here is the breakdown by county for today:
Baker (4)
Benton (10)
Clackamas (112)
Clatsop (3)
Columbia (11)
Coos (12)
Crook (8)
Curry (8)
Deschutes (75)
Douglas (42)
Grant (3)
Harney (1)
Hood River (3)
Jackson (89)
Jefferson (12)
Josephine (28)
Klamath (44)
Lake (4)
Lane (101)
Lincoln (12)
Linn (17)
Malheur (14)
Marion (105)
Morrow (5)
Multnomah (177)
Polk (35)
Tillamook (2)
Umatilla (25)
Union (26)
Wasco (9)
Washington (180)
Yamhill (12)
And the Deaths
Oregon’s 848th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 7 and died on Nov. 22 in her residence.
Oregon’s 849th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 11 and died on Nov. 23 in his residence.
Oregon’s 850th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 19 and died on Nov. 21 in his residence.
Oregon’s 851st COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 20 and died on Nov. 23.
Oregon’s 852nd COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 11 and died on Nov. 21 in her residence.
Oregon’s 853rd COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old man in Lake County who tested positive on Nov. 17 and died on Nov. 21 at Lake District Hospital.
Oregon’s 854th COVID-19 death is a 97-year-old woman in Malheur County who tested positive on Nov. 9 and died on Nov. 11 at West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell, Idaho.
Oregon’s 855th COVID-19 death is a 66-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct. 1 and died on Nov. 23 in her residence.
Oregon’s 856th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old man in Malheur County who tested positive on Oct. 31 and died on Nov. 8 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.
Oregon’s 857th COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old man in Wasco County who tested positive on Nov. 17 and died on Nov. 23 in his residence.
Oregon’s 858th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Multnomah County who died on Nov. 21 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Oregon’s 859th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 8 and died on Nov. 13 in his residence.
Oregon’s 860th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct. 28 and died on Nov. 13 in his residence.
Oregon’s 861st COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Oct. 12 and died on Nov. 23 at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Oregon’s 862nd COVID-19 death is a 47-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 17 and died on Nov. 22 in his residence.
Oregon’s 863rd COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 18 and died on Nov. 23 at Portland VA Medical Center.
Oregon’s 864th COVID-19 death is a 95-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 16 and died on Nov. 24 in his residence.
Oregon’s 865th COVID-19 death is a 27-year-old man in Lincoln County who tested positive on Nov. 18 and died on Nov. 17 in his residence.
Oregon’s 866th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Malheur County who died on Nov. 13 in her residence.
Oregon’s 867th COVID-19 death is a 98-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 4 and died on Nov. 15 in her residence.
Additional Graphs:
     **You can find a breakdown of regional availability here.
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,
 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
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