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March 10, 2021
Friends and Neighbors,
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.
Tonight’s newsletter reflects lower cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and positivity rate. We’ve just received the latest OHA weekly data report and outbreak report, and they show that the long-term trends are also very much in the right direction.
Please stay safe, and let me know if you have any questions about information in today’s newsletter.
TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE
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New COVID Cases: OHA reports 306 new COVID cases today. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 158,291.
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Variant COVID Cases: OHA again reports no changes on the variants in Oregon, so the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant in Oregon is still at 11 and the P.1 (Brazilian) variant is still at 1.
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Positive Test Results: OHA reports 487 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 228,506. 228,990
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 15,805 tests today Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 3,905,469.
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Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 3.1%.
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Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 122 (12 fewer than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 22 (9 fewer than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 148 (8 fewer than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 558 (131 fewer than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 8 (4 fewer than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 770 (12 more than yesterday).
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Deaths: I’m sorry to report 2 additional COVID deaths today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,305.
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Vaccinations: As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 24,924
- 14,801 were conducted yesterday
- 10,843 were conducted earlier, but the reports were received yesterday (there can potentially be a three-day window for reporting)
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 1,204,418
- 602,304 Pfizer doses
- 597,351 Moderna doses
- 3,928 Johnson & Johnson doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 768,737
- 432,830 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 1,418,455 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (125,180 more than yesterday.)
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Additional Quick Updates:
- The newly-approved American Rescue Plan includes much-needed relief for states, many of which have seen significant reductions in tax revenues over the last year. In this graph you’ll see that Oregon has experienced one of the biggest reductions. (Actually, much of the drop was due to the kicker kicking last year.)
- The Plan also includes significant relief for unemployed Oregonians, those whose benefits had run out or were close to running out. Here’s a report on the latest from the Oregon Employment Department.
- As you’ll see in tonight’s newsletter, we are again not seeing an increase in the number of COVID variant cases here in Oregon. Still, there’s much that we don’t know about the variants, and how they’re playing out here in Oregon. The Oregonian’s Jaimie Ding writes about this.
- The Biden administration’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the CDC have revised their recommendations on visits to nursing homes It allows visitors inside facilities where the residents have been vaccinated.
- The Biden administration intends to purchase another 100 million doses of the J&J Vaccine, ensuring enough vaccine to cover all Americans.
- Last night I mentioned various vaccination outreach efforts that Multnomah County is making in partnership with different nonprofits to connect with particularly vulnerable individuals. Here’s an upcoming opportunity next week from Prism and the Cascade Aids Project It is focused on LGBTQ and BIPOC seniors who are 65 and older.
Redistricting Update
I’ve written before about the problems we and other legislatures are facing in doing redistricting this year. The federal Census data that state legislatures rely on to redistrict congressional and state legislative seats will not be available until September 30, 2021 – six months later than usual and well past the deadlines set by the Oregon Constitution.
Today the Senate President and Speaker of the House filed a “petition of mandamus” asking the Oregon Supreme Court to grant the Legislature three months to attempt redistricting once the state receives the Census data. They are also asking the Court to allow the Legislative Assembly to conduct redistricting outside of a regular session (i.e., in a future special session).
This is a strategy that other states are pursuing as well to deal with this unusual situation—the result of COVID and decisions made by the previous administration.
OHA Releases Latest Weekly Report – Declines Again
OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, shows decreases in daily cases and hospitalizations from the previous week. Weekly reported deaths were higher (though they include many deaths from previous months).
- OHA reported 1,729 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, March 1 through Sunday, March 7 — a 35% decrease from the previous week.
- New COVID-19 related hospitalizations also dropped from 164 to 139, which is a 15% decline from last week and the lowest weekly total in five months.
- Reported COVID-19 related deaths increased to 86, up from 57 last week (again, largely as a result of deaths that actually occurred in January and early February).
- There were 129,442 tests for COVID-19 for the week of Feb. 28 through March 6 — a 7% increase from the previous week. The percentage of positive tests was 2.8%, which represents the lowest percentage since Oregon adopted the test-based method in mid-November.
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 44 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings, a big drop in the number of facilities registering active outbreaks.
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 is 306. Here is today’s breakdown by county:
Baker (1)
Benton (7)
Clackamas (23)
Clatsop (30)
Columbia (4)
Coos (19)
Crook (2)
Curry (2)
Deschutes (17)
Douglas (12)
Grant (6)
Jackson (21)
Jefferson (3)
Josephine (17)
Klamath (2)
Lane (15)
Lincoln (1)
Linn (4)
Malheur (2)
Marion (29)
Morrow (1)
Multnomah (61)
Umatilla (6)
Union (2)
Wasco (2)
Washington (36)
Yamhill (8)
And the Deaths
Oregon’s 2,304th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old woman in Jackson County who tested positive on Feb. 28 and died on March 8 at Providence Medford Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,305th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Feb. 15 and died on March 8 Salem Hospital.
 
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: 503-281-0608
mail: 900 Court St NE, S-407, Salem, OR, 97301
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