December 2nd COVID-19 Update

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 12/02/2020 09:01 PM PST
Michael Dembrow

December 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.

We learned today that the United Kingdom has become the first country to approve distribution of one of the major COVID vaccines, the Pfizer/BioNTech version.  Vaccines should begin to be administered next week, beginning with health care workers.  You can read more about it here.

It seems likely that approval will follow here in the U.S. very soon.  If the vaccines pass muster (both by the federal agencies and by the consortium of Western states to which Oregon belongs) and approval comes soon, it’s possible that health care workers and first responders will begin to be vaccinated by the end of the month, followed in January and February by other essential workers and by people living in congregate care. This is potentially fabulous news.

OHA has set up a Vaccine Web Site to help us follow the prioritization decisions and administration schedule.  OHA is also creating a COVID-19 Advisory Committee to help with the decision-making process and community engagement. They are looking for volunteers to be part of the advisory committee.  If you’re interested, here’s more information about it.

Paradoxically, even as the vaccine begins to be rolled out, the next two months will likely be the most difficult period for the pandemic.  With Christmas and New Year’s, Hannukah and Kwanzaa coming, this is the peak time for indoor socializing and thus the most dangerous time.  If people can just double down on face coverings, restricted travel, social distancing, and other forms of caution for a bit longer, the payoff will be huge.  Let’s hope people have a little more fortitude within them.

For now, as you’ll see in the newsletter, COVID case numbers remain at the very high new plateau.  We haven’t yet seen a new spike of new cases post-Thanksgiving, but we have to be prepared for that.  Hospitalizations are slightly lower today, as are COVID deaths (18 vs. 24).  But they remain extremely high.  As you’ll see in the latest Weekly Report, we remain at record levels for all the COVID indices.  The national numbers are all at record levels as well.

Please stay safe, and let me know if you have any questions about today’s newsletter. 

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • New COVID Cases: OHA reports 1,244 new COVID cases today.  This count is a combination of positive test results and those who are presumed positive (see definition below).  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 78,160.
  • Positive Test Results: OHA reports an additional 2,095 positive test results today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 112,392.
  • Total Tests: OHA reports 19,612 additional test reports today. The cumulative total of tests given since the beginning of the pandemic is 2,021,942.
  • Positivity Rate: The rate of positive test results for Oregon is 10.7% today.  The national ratio today is 13.6%.  
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to have to report 18 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 953.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports 96 new COVID hospitalizations. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID is now 4,745.
  • Presumptive Cases: OHA is including “presumptive COVID-19 cases” in its 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.  
  • Other Hospital Information:
    • Patients Currently with COVID-19 Symptoms (who may or may not have received a positive test result yet): 620 (5 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 549 (28 fewer than yesterday) have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 137 (4 fewer than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 546 (58 fewer than yesterday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 113 (7 fewer than yesterday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 56 (same as yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 746 (4 more than yesterday).
  • Dashboards:
  • Today’s National Numbers:
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • OHA released the latest COVID Weekly Report early this evening. It covers the period of Monday, November 23, through Sunday, November 29. I’ll provide a summary/analysis of it in tomorrow’s or Friday’s newsletter.  Not surprisingly, it again shows record levels of impact from COVID-19.  Here are some of the highlights:
      • 9,100 new daily cases were reported, a 5% increase over the previous week.
      • Weekly hospitalizations associated with COVID-19 rose to 398, a 9% increase, a significant slowing from the previous week, yet still the highest weekly total reported during the pandemic.
      • There were 86 reported COVID-19 reported deaths, up from 61 the previous week.
      • During the week of Nov. 22 to Nov. 28,141,356 COVID-19 tests were administered. The percentage of positive tests was 8.6.

You’ll see that the weekly report no longer includes the various COVID outbreaks.  Those will be reported in a separate Outbreak Report. I’ll include a summary analysis of it tomorrow or the next day.

  • The Oregonian’s Andrew Theen has compiled information about “Eight Things to Know About COVID-19 in Oregon.” They include observations like “Twenty Somethings Have the Most Cases,” “Cases Can’t Be Traced to a Source,” and “Hospitalized Patients Skyrocket.”

Starting Tomorrow:  New Risk/Protection Framework

Starting on Thursday, the “freeze” comes to an end, and the counties move into the new risk level framework.

Here are the county risk levels for the next two weeks:

  • Lower risk: Gilliam, Sherman, Wallowa, Wheeler
  • Moderate risk: Harney, Tillamook
  • High risk: Benton, Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Lincoln
  • Extreme risk: The remaining 25 counties

Again, here is the chart showing the restrictions for the different levels.

Coming Next Week:  Senate Legislative Days

House and Senate committees will be meeting over the next two weeks for quarterly “legislative days,” a time for committees to be briefed and updated on a variety of relevant topics and for executive appointments to various boards and commissions to be interviewed and ultimately confirmed.  Since this is the final set of committee hearings prior to the start of the session, it’s also a time for the first proposed committee bills to see the light of day.  Next week will be the time for Senate committees and the following week for House committees (though House and Senate Judiciary will be meeting jointly next week).  You can view the agendas here.

I’ll have more information for you in the coming days.

The meetings will of course all be remote and accessible to the public via the legislative website.

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 reported for is 1,244. Here is the breakdown of reported cases by county for today:

Baker (5)

Benton (28)

Clackamas (128)

Clatsop (5)

Columbia (13)

Coos (10)

Crook (4)

Curry (3)

Deschutes (30)

Douglas (12)

Grant (1)

Harney (2)

Hood River (16)

Jackson (65)

Jefferson (12)

Josephine (11)

Klamath (16)

Lake (5)

Lane (69)

Lincoln (19)

Linn (29)

Malheur (26)

Marion (122)

Morrow (7)

Multnomah (282)

Polk (26)

Tillamook (7)

Umatilla (61)

Union (12)

Wallowa (1)

Wasco (4)

Washington (184)

Wheeler (1)

Yamhill (28)

And the Deaths

NOTE FROM OHA: Oregon’s 882nd and 883rd COVID-19 deaths, reported on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, are the same person. The numbers have been adjusted accordingly. OHA regrets this error.

Oregon’s 936th COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 10 and died on Nov. 29 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center.

Oregon’s 937th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Douglas County who tested positive on Nov. 16 and died on Nov. 29. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 938th COVID-19 death is a 98-year-old man in Malheur County who tested positive on Nov. 16 and died on Dec. 1. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 939th COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 7 and died on Nov. 14. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 940th COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 9 and died on Nov. 16. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 941st COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Hood River County who tested positive on Oct. 20 and died on Nov. 18. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 942nd COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Oct. 22 and died on Nov. 28. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 943rd COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 25 and died on Nov. 30. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 944th COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on Oct. 29 and died on Nov. 21. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 945th COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on Nov. 6 and died on Nov. 26. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 946th COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old woman in Washington County who tested positive on Nov. 7 and died on Nov. 20. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 947th COVID-19 death is a 74-year-old woman in Jackson County who tested positive on Nov. 15 and died on Nov. 29. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 948th COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old woman in Josephine County who tested positive on Nov. 20 and died on Dec. 1. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 949th COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man in Columbia County who tested positive on Nov. 22 and died on Nov. 27 at Kaiser Westside Medical Center.

Oregon’s 950th COVID-19 death is a 74-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 26 and died on Nov. 26 at Adventist Medical Center.

Oregon’s 951st COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man who tested positive on Nov. 27 and died on Nov. 28. Place of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 952nd COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman in Klamath County who tested positive on Nov. 28 and died on Nov. 30 at Sky Lakes Medical Center.

Oregon’s 953rd COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 27 and died on Nov. 27 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Riverbend.

Additional Graphs:

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**You can find a breakdown of regional availability here.

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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