December 10th COVID-19 Update

Michael Dembrow

December 10, 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.

There’s not much new to report today on the COVID front in Oregon.  Our case count remains at the same high level that we’ve been seeing here in Oregon, today’s death count has gone down somewhat, and COVID hospitalizations are down slightly.  Meanwhile, as you’ll see in the section on the national experience, we’re again seeing record-level COVID cases and deaths for the U.S. as a whole.

That’s why today’s news that the Pfizer vaccine passed another step on the road to approval is so welcome.  We can’t get our hopes up too high and let down our guards in the near term--since it’ll be some time before we have broad availability of the vaccine; still, this news really does help.

However, with every day that passes, we’re also getting closer to the end-dates for the lifeline programs that Congress created last spring in the CARES act that have kept many families intact and afloat.  Various critical unemployment insurance programs are about to end (see the memo below from the Employment Department for more info and advice).  The federal (and state) moratoria on residential evictions for inability to pay are about to expire, and many renters are facing dire consequences.  We keep hearing that Congress is close to an agreement to extend many of these payments and deadlines, but it seems as likely as not that an agreement will not be reached.  On top of worries about the disease itself are very real worries about having food to eat and a roof over one’s head.

If the federal government doesn’t act, that makes it even more important that we do as a state.  You’ll see information below about tomorrow’s meeting of the Legislative Emergency Board, which has been the primary vehicle for getting money out to those who need it.  However, that fund is running out of money, and we will need to move dollars from the state’s General Fund into the Emergency Fund ASAP.  For that, the Legislature will need to come into session.

I’m still hoping and pushing for a special session this month that will do that.  The challenge is that our Constitution normally requires that we meet physically at the Capitol, which right now is both dangerous and would be counter to the state’s COVID response policy, given that Marion County is very much in Extreme Risk status. 

That’s why we need this session to be convened as a catastrophic special session—the Constitution does allow us to meet remotely if the Governor deems that it’s too dangerous to meet physically in Salem.  That would allow the Legislature to address the problem of evictions, foreclosures, challenges to restaurants, and other COVID responses needed before the end of the year, along with moving money into the Emergency Fund.  The Governor can do some of this through Executive Orders, but my sense is that she would prefer to have the Legislature take these steps. I agree that it would be better to have the Legislature do this if we are safely able to.  The only safe way for that to happen is for her to convene a catastrophic session.  I hope she does.

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 1,586 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 89,838.
  • Positive Test Results: OHA reports 1,626 positive test results. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is 127,056.
  • Total Tests: OHA reports an additional 22,705 test results. Our cumulative total of tests is 2,216,527
  • Positivity Rate: The average positivity rate for Oregon today is 7.2%.  The national ratio today is 11.2%.
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to have to report 13 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 1,123.
  • Hospitalized: OHA reports 61 new COVID hospitalizations. The cumulative number of those who have been hospitalized with COVID is 5,301.
  • 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): 618 (24 fewer than yesterday). Of those, 576 (4 fewer than yesterday) have already received a positive test back.
    • Available ICU Beds: 136 (13 fewer than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 611 (86 more than yesterday).
    • ICU Patients w COVID-19 Symptoms: 138 (1 fewer than yesterday).
    • COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 60 (2 fewer than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 753 (1 more than yesterday).
  • Dashboards:
  • Today’s National Numbers:
    • Total Tests: 213,015,816 (up 1,954,686 from yesterday).
    • Total Cases: 15,360,841 (up 217,996 from yesterday.)
    • Deaths: 283,555 (up 3,101 from yesterday).
    • These national numbers come from the COVID Tracking Project. You can follow them here.
  • Additional Brief Updates:

Legislative Emergency Board Meets Tomorrow

The Emergency Board will be meeting Friday at 9 am to hear reports, transfer funds, and release payments for programs already approved.  These allocations will take the fund close to zero.  For additional dollars to be transferred from the General Fund to the Emergency Fund, the Legislature will either need to come into a special session or wait until the regular session begins in January.  At this point, it still seems likely that a special session will be convened this month, but it’s by no means certain.

You’ll find the meeting agenda and video link here. And here’s where you can find information about each of the proposals.

Federal Unemployment Support Set to Expire

With a number of unemployment benefits programs set to expire over the next few weeks as a result of Congressional inaction, here is a memo legislators received from the Employment Department with a status report on those programs and others. 

One piece of advice: if you’re on an extended benefits program, it’s about to end next week, and you should consider switching over to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for the last two weeks of the month.

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 1,586.  Here is the breakdown of reported cases by county for today:

Baker (11)

Benton (30)

Clackamas (101)

Clatsop (13)

Columbia (26)

Coos (10)

Crook (6)

Curry (2)

Deschutes (47)

Douglas (20)

Grant (1)

Harney (2)

Hood River (10)

Jackson (60)

Jefferson (52)

Josephine (14)

Klamath (38)

Lake (2)

Lane (117)

Lincoln (7)

Linn (58)

Malheur (26)

Marion (153)

Morrow (14)

Multnomah (400)

Polk (30)

Sherman (1)

Tillamook (7)

Umatilla (31)

Union (2)

Wallowa (1)

Wasco (12)

Washington (247))

Yamhill (35)

And the Deaths

Oregon’s 1111st COVID-19 death is a 64-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 9 and died on Dec. 4 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 1112th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Nov. 21 and died on Dec. 8 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 1113th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old woman in Deschutes County who tested positive on Nov. 22 and died at her residence. Date of death is being confirmed.

Oregon’s 1114th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on Nov. 27 and died on Dec. 9 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 1115th COVID-19 death is a 75-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on Nov. 10 and died on Dec. 8 at his residence.

Oregon’s 1116th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Jackson County who tested positive on Nov. 30 and died on Dec. 7 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1117th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman in Josephine County who tested positive on Nov. 29 and died on Dec. 8 at Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregon’s 1118th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 25 and died on Dec. 9 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1119th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Dec. 1 and died on Dec. 7 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1120th COVID-19 death is a 97-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 30 and died on Dec. 8 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1121st COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 26 and died on Dec. 6 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1122nd COVID-19 death is a 95-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Nov. 25 and died on Nov. 27 at her residence.

Oregon’s 1123rd COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man in Union County who tested positive on Dec. 1 and died on Dec. 4 at his residence.

Additional Graphs:

*Case numbers include individuals who have either received a positive test result or are presumed positive.

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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