April 6th COVID-19 Update

Michael Dembrow

April 6, 2021

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.

Today is another one of those Bad News/Good News days.  Our COVID metrics are not good, part of the new ongoing upward trend that we (and much of the country right now) are experiencing.  At first glance they seem terrible, but a closer look suggests that they may not be quite so bad.  Case counts are more than double what they were yesterday, but remember that yesterday’s count was abnormally low, with several counties not reporting at all.  Today’s count includes many that should have been counted yesterday. (The two-day average is about what we would expect right now.)  The number of deaths is an extremely high 33, but again most of those are likely late-reports from weeks ago.  On the positive side, hospitalizations are down slightly.

Adding to the bad news, as expected the Governor has had to move a number of counties to higher risk levels because of rising infection rates.  This is a strategy that has worked before to stop rapid increases.  It’s necessary and hopefully will lead to a rapid turnaround, but it feels especially tough just as it was starting to feel as if the end was near.  Multnomah and Clackamas counties are in this group, and Washington just barely escaped.

On the positive side, you’ll also read further down in the newsletter that all Oregonians over the age of 16 will be eligible for the COVID vaccine on April 19th.  That will create a further surge of pressure of appointments in the Portland area, but it will likely be much more manageable for those of you who live in other parts of the state (or for Portlanders who can and are willing to travel outside the Metro area).  I’m hearing a lot of excitement among individuals who not long ago were thinking it would be late summer or early fall before they’d be able to receive their vaccines.

Meanwhile, the legislative slowdown continues in the House, as only a handful of bills were able to make it to a vote.  As you’ll see in tomorrow’s Third Reading List, the Senate has ten bills scheduled for a vote, while the House has more than a hundred.  At their current pace, they’ll perhaps be able to do ten as well. As you’ll see if you’re interested and want to do a little digging, those bills nearly all come to the floor with bipartisan sponsorship or bipartisan committee votes.  At the very least, it would seem that bills that meet that standard could be moved to a vote without having to be read aloud in their entirety.  We shall see.

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

 

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TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • New COVID Cases: OHA reports 544 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 167,658.
  • Variant COVID Cases: OHA is not reporting additional instances of variants today, so the total number of B.1.1.7 (UK) variant cases is still 19, and the P.1 (Brazilian) variant is still at 1.  There are still 0 reported cases of the B.1.351 (the South African) variants. OHA is now testing for and has discovered cases of two other variants, the B.1427 (45 cases), and B.1.429 (158 cases).
  • Positive Test Results: OHA reported 534 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 242,658.
  • Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 13,836 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,273,059.
  • Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 3.9%.
  • Hospitalization Information:
    • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 163 (14 fewer than yesterday)
    • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 42 (same as yesterday).
    • Available ICU Beds: 155 (23 fewer than yesterday)
    • Other Available Beds: 695 (86 fewer than yesterday).
    • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 21 (2 more than yesterday).
    • Available Ventilators: 804 (6 fewer than yesterday).
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to report 33 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,394.
  • Vaccinations:
    • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
      • New Immunizations Reported Today: 32,955.
        • 21,170 were conducted yesterday
        • 11,785 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: 2,031,252
        • 1,040,312 Pfizer doses
        • 938,180 Moderna doses
        • 51,168 Johnson & Johnson doses
      • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,290,755
        • 784,476 now fully vaccinated with two doses
      • To date, 2,662,905 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon (228,330 so far this week).
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • Here’s a story about 10 police reform bills that passed out of House Judiciary with bipartisan support today. They’re on track to pass the House and come me over to us in Senate Judiciary.
    • And finally, here’s an OPB story about the anger directed at Senate Republicans for not walking out to stop SB 454, the bill banning firearms from the Capitol and potentially other public buildings.  It gives you a sense of what some of our Republican colleagues are up against right now.

 

New COVID Risk Levels Announced

As last night’s newsletter predicted, the increases that we saw in yesterday’s County COVID Metrics have triggered changes in risk levels for a number of counties.  Most notably, a number of counties that had been at the more-relaxed Moderate Risk level will now be moved to High Risk this Friday.  It’s a strategy that has worked in the past to bring down rising case counts, but it comes as a disappointment for those of us hoping to see a quick return to “normalcy” with the proliferation of COVID vaccines.  It seems clear that the relaxation of restrictions that most counties have been enjoying for the last month or so has led to rising counts—not serious yet, but if the trends continue, it could spell trouble.

Here's the Governor's press release.

Here are the counties that will see their status move from “Moderate Risk” to “High Risk” on Friday:

  • Clackamas
  • Deschutes
  • Klamath
  • Linn
  • Multnomah
  • Tillamook

They join the following counties that were already at High Risk:

  • Benton
  • Coos
  • Curry
  • Douglas
  • Jackson
  • Josephine
  • Lincoln
  • Marion

Here's the complete list of county risk assignments. As you’ll see, no counties are currently at Extreme High Risk, the most restrictive category. As you’ll see in her press release, the Governor doesn’t want to move any counties into that category as long as hospital capacity isn’t at risk.

 Here's a chart  that shows the requirements for the different risk levels.

 

Governor Follows President’s Lead and Opens Up Vaccines to All on April 19th

President Biden has announced that he wants all states to open vaccines to all residents over the age of 16 by April 19.  This morning Governor Brown announced that Oregon will adhere to that same timeline. 

This won’t necessarily mean that all Oregonians will be vaccinated any sooner than they otherwise would have—a lot will depend on vaccine supply and the willingness of Oregonians to be vaccinated.  As we saw when a large number were newly eligible yesterday, there will be an initial crush, and it may take some time for all who want it to actually get fully vaccinated.  Still, it’s an exciting development.  Remember, it was only a few months ago that we were being told that people in this lower-risk categories wouldn’t be vaccinated till late summer or early fall.  It’s really quite remarkable.

 

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 544.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (4)

Benton (11)

Clackamas (86)

Clatsop (1)

Columbia (5)

Coos (10)

Crook (2)

Curry (2)

Deschutes (35)

Douglas (7)

Grant (9)

Harney (3)

Hood River (2)

Jackson (33)

Jefferson (2)

Josephine (12)

Klamath (21)

Lane (41)

Lincoln (3)

Linn (17)

Malheur (4)

Marion (36)

Multnomah (68)

Polk (10)

Sherman (1)

Tillamook (7)

Umatilla (8)

Union (4)

Wasco (1)

Washington (97)

Yamhill (2)

 

And the Deaths:

OHA reports 33 COVID deaths today.  As often happens when a large number is reported, most of them are likely going to be the system catching up on earlier deaths.  OHA epidemiologists are researching the details and will provide them tomorrow.

 

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cases 7

cases 145

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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.

 

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,

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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