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Dear 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.
Hope you were able to get outdoors a little for this lovely St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy all the greenery that you could. I wasn’t able to do so until after our town hall this evening, but even after 7 we had some sunlight for nearly an hour. The joys of Daylight Savings Time in the spring!
We’re pretty much back to the new normal on COVID in Oregon: low case numbers, low death numbers, declining hospitalizations, and a relatively low positivity rate. This is reflected not only in today’s daily report but also in the newly-released weekly report. You’ll see further declines in the number of long-term care outbreaks, now less than 1/5th of what they were two months ago. This decline is certainly helping to fuel the hefty reductions in the number of severe/fatal COVID cases in the state.
The number of vaccinations is not yet reflecting the true number of vaccinations in the state, due to the lingering effects of the server outage from two days ago. OHA is expecting the reporting to reflect the true number within the next couple of days. Even so, OHA’s report to the Legislature today showed that 53.5% of those in the senior category (65+) have now received the vaccine. Given the large number of vaccinations being scheduled now, we should be able to hit the 70% target for that group by the end of the month.
In tonight’s newsletter you’ll find the usual COVID reports, along with information on new standards for outdoor venues and newly-approved allocations from the Legislature.
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 239 new COVID cases today. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 160,259.
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Variant COVID Cases: OHA reports no change to the count of reported variant cases in Oregon. So, the reported number of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant in Oregon remains at 17, and the P.1 (Brazilian) variant is still at 1. There are still 0 reported cases of the other variants.
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Positive Test Results: OHA reported 341 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 232,162.
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Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 8,753 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,003,447.
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Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 3.9%.
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Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 108 (11 fewer than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 29 (4 more than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 160 (6 more than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 548 (170 fewer than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 6 (1 more than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 805 (6 more than yesterday).
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Deaths: I’m sorry to report 3 additional COVID deaths today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now at 2,349.
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Vaccinations: As I mentioned yesterday, on Monday there was a server outage that affected the ALERT Immunization System (IIS) in Oregon and four other states. It has been fixed, but the reported numbers below remain lower than they should be. OHA says that we can expect the numbers in the next couple of days to be higher as the reporting catches up.
- As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 15,289
- 7,440 were conducted yesterday
- 7,849 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: 1,363,311
- 665,111 Pfizer doses
- 674,567 Moderna doses
- 22,735 Johnson & Johnson doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 877,364
- 501,434 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 1,777,145 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (134,640 more than yesterday.)
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Additional Quick Updates:
- OHA Director Pat Allen confirmed today that Oregon will be following President Biden’s direction to make all residents 16 and older eligible for the COVID vaccine beginning on May 1. That’s two months earlier than anticipated, and suggests confidence that there will be enough vaccine coming in.
- Good news for people currently receiving UI benefits: The Oregon Employment Department announced that most people currently on benefits should see those benefits continue without a break, thanks to the recently-passed ARP Act.Read more here.
- Interested in seeing how states are using their federal COVID-relief dollars? Here's a useful interactive tool from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
- Gallup has just released the results of a national poll asking parents their thoughts about school reopening. It shows that 79% of those polled want to see their local schools open for in-person instruction now. More on the results here.
- The New York Times has a story on the "3 Feet or 6 Feet" debate with respect to our schools.
New Weekly Data and Outbreak Reports Released – Overall Low But a Mixed Bag
It’s Wednesday, so, as expected, the OHA released its latest reports on COVID trends in Oregon. The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report shows increased daily cases and declines in hospitalizations and deaths from the previous week.
OHA reported 2,272 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, March 8 through Sunday, March 14. That represents a 31% increase from the previous week.
New COVID-19 related hospitalizations also dropped to 130, down from 139 last week.
Reported COVID-19 related deaths dropped to 26, down from 86 last week.
There were 94,079 tests for COVID-19 for the week of March 7 through March 13 — a 27% drop from last week. The percentage of positive tests was sharply higher, at 3.6% (but still well below the general 5% target).
Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 37 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings. This marks another reduction in outbreaks in our most vulnerable settings.
12/9/20 191
1/13/21 202
2/10/21 116
3/10/21 44
3/17/21 37
Updates to Capacity Limits for Outdoor Sports Stadiums and Concerts
Under the direction of Governor Kate Brown, outdoor capacity limits are now updated for outdoor recreation and fitness, and outdoor entertainment for Oregon counties. As of today, outdoor entertainment establishments and outdoor recreation and fitness establishments in all Oregon counties may allow the following:
- Lower risk: Maximum 50% occupancy
- Moderate risk: Maximum 25% occupancy
- High risk: Maximum 15% occupancy
- Extreme risk: Maximum 50 people
To see the full list of what’s meant by “outdoor entertainment” (think zoos and concerts) and by “outdoor recreation and fitness” (think outdoor pools and stadiums), here is the Sector Risk Level Guidance Chart.
Here is the list of counties and their current status.
Big Allocations to Rebalance the Budget and Invest in Recovery
A hearing was held this morning in the Capitol Construction Committee of Joint Ways and Means to approve a series of mid-session appropriations intended to rebalance the current budget. It’s a feature of every session, but this year is different, given the need for ongoing immediate allocations to deal with COVID, wildfire recovery, and summer learning.
Here's the list of allocations. The big summer learning initiatives are in items 87-92. And here's a link to all the meeting materials as well as a link to view the hearing.
A tricky wrinkle with the end-of-biennium rebalance/reconciliation is always the potential impact on the kicker. The decisions that are made about how to balance the budget can determine whether the kicker will kick or not, so it becomes a politically sensitive issue, and this year is no exception. Here’s reporting on that subject from OPB’s Direk Vanderhart.
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 239. More than 2/3 of today’s reported cases are from outside the Portland Tri-County area. Here is today’s breakdown by county:
Baker (1)
Benton (5)
Clackamas (15)
Clatsop (7)
Columbia (2)
Coos (10)
Crook (1)
Curry (1)
Deschutes (7)
Douglas (8)
Grant (6)
Jackson (25)
Jefferson (2)
Josephine (16)
Klamath (2)
Lane (16)
Lincoln (3)
Linn (6)
Malheur (3)
Marion (26)
Morrow (1)
Multnomah (24)
Polk (1)
Tillamook (3)
Umatilla (13)
Union (1)
Washington (28)
Wheeler (2)
Yamhill (4)
And the Deaths:
The first 22 deaths described below are from yesterday’s report. The information about them wasn’t completed until this morning. Half of them were from February or earlier.
Oregon’s 2,325th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old woman in Clackamas County who died on Feb. 22 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,326th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 14 and died on Feb. 13 at Vibra Specialty Hospital of Portland.
Oregon’s 2,327th COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Feb. 8 and died on Feb. 23 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,328th COVID-19 death is a 58-year-old man in Coos County who tested positive on Jan. 25 and died on March 14 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.
Oregon’s 2,329th COVID-19 death is an 81-year-old man in Baker County who tested positive on March 8 and died on March 11 at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center Boise.
Oregon’s 2,330th COVID-19 death is a 46-year-old man in Coos County who tested positive on March 8 and died on March 11 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,331st COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Jan. 7 and died on Jan. 30 at St. Charles Bend hospital.
Oregon’s 2,332nd COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old man in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 6 and died on March 8 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,333rd COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old man in Jefferson County who tested positive on Dec. 8 and died on Jan. 6 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,334th COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old woman in Lane County who tested positive on March 14 and died on March 14 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.
Oregon’s 2,335th COVID-19 death is a 69-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Feb. 19 and died on March 6 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,336th COVID-19 death is a 40-year-old man in Linn County who tested positive on March 11 and died on March 10 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,337th COVID-19 death is a 91-year-old man in Marion County who tested positive on Jan. 21 and died on March 4 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,338th COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man in Curry County who died on March 7 at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.
Oregon’s 2,339th COVID-19 death is a 62-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on Feb. 16 and died on Feb. 27 at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center.
Oregon’s 2,340th COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Dec. 16 and died on Dec. 29 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,341st COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 4 and died on Feb. 25 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,342nd COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 16 and died on March 5 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,343rd COVID-19 death is a 98-year-old woman in Polk County who tested positive on Feb. 25 and died on March 3 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,344th COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Polk County who tested positive on Jan. 20 and died on Feb. 18 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,345th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old woman in Washington County who tested positive on Jan. 25 and died on Feb. 10 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,346th COVID-19 death is a 79-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Jan. 24 and died on Feb. 22 at his residence.
And here are the three reported today:
Oregon’s 2,347th COVID-19 death is an 86-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on March 5 and died on March 14. Location of death is being confirmed.
Oregon’s 2,348th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Feb. 28 and died on March 13 at his residence.
Oregon’s 2,349th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Josephine County who tested positive on March 8 and died on March 16 at her residence.
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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