April 7th COVID-19 Update

April 7, 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.

Case counts, deaths, hospitalizations, and test positivity rates are pretty much back to where they have been over the last couple of weeks—fairly stable but higher than we’d like.  We did get the details on the large number of deaths that were reported yesterday; as expected, nearly all were late reports, some from as far back as January.  Today’s seven were all much more recent.

You’ll find information below about the newly-released weekly COVID reports: they continue to show rising COVID metrics overall but declining impacts in nursing homes and other congregate care settings.

Vaccines continue to come into the state and be administered in high numbers.

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

• New COVID Cases: OHA reports 481 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 168,128.
• Variant COVID Cases: OHA reports 3 additional instances of the B.1.1.7 variant since March 30, so the total number of B.1.1.7 (UK) variant cases is now 22, while 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 of concern,” the B.1427 (now 54, up 9 cases), and B.1.429 (217 cases, up 59 cases).  OHA is now producing a Variant Tableau dashboard providing current variant case numbers for the state as a whole and for various parts of the state.
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 536 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 243,194.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 12,268 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,285,327.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 4.4%.
• Hospitalization Information:
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 171 (8 more than yesterday)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 42 (same as yesterday).
  • Available ICU Beds: 141 (14 fewer than yesterday)
  • Other Available Beds: 695 528 (86 fewer than yesterday).
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 20 (1 fewer than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 809 (5 more than yesterday).
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 7 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,401.
• Vaccinations:
  • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 36,104.
      • 24,097 were conducted yesterday
      • 12,007 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
      • 1,057,694 Pfizer doses
      • 952,955 Moderna doses
      • 55,505 Johnson & Johnson doses
    • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,313,016
      • 802,090 now fully vaccinated with two doses
    • To date, 2,708,635 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon (45,730 more than yesterday, 274,060 so far this week).
      • 76.3% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 76.1%. 
      • 32.0% of Oregonians have received their first dose of the vaccine.
      • 19.6% of Oregonians are fully vaccinated.
      • For more details, including the demographics of those receiving the vaccine, here is a link to more information about the vaccine and vaccination protocols.
      • Here is the daily vaccination tracker from Bloomberg.
      • And here is a link to each county's vaccination website. It provides access information for those in Category 1a and 1b

• Additional Brief Updates:
  • With COVID on the rise again across the nation, CNN reports that  just five states account for 44% of the new cases. (Oregon, of course, is not one of them.)
  • The Washington Post reports on the difficulties that millions of Americans are experiencing getting their COVID payments.
  • The New York Times reports that 80% of school educators around the country have received at least one dose of the vaccine. 
  • The Lund Report’s Jacob Fenton has done a deep dive into the  shifting demographicsof who is now getting COVID. Not surprisingly, with more older Oregonians getting vaccinated, we’re seeing the proportion of cases shifting downwards.

OHA Releases the Latest Weekly COVID Data and Outbreak Reports: All Metrics Increasing Now

The Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 Weekly Report, released today, not surprisingly shows increased daily cases, increases in hospitalizations, and increases in deaths from the previous week. Here are some of the highlights from the Data Report:

• 2,964 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, March 29 through Sunday, April 4. That represents a 21% increase from the previous week.
• New COVID-19 related hospitalizations rose to 150, up from 137 last week.
• Reported COVID-19 related deaths rose to 19, up from 10 last week.
• There were 93,357 tests for COVID-19 for the week of March 28 through April 4 — a 1.4% increase from last week.
• The percentage of positive tests rose from 3.7% to 4.5%.

Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 21 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings.  You’ll see in the report that the numbers of cases (and deaths among seniors) continues to decline in these settings.

           12/9/20         191 facilities

          1/13/21         202 facilities

          2/10/21         116 facilities

          3/10/21            44 facilities

          3/17/21           37 facilities

          3/24/21           31 facilities

          3/31/21           24 facilities

          4/7/21             21 facilities

The Outbreak Report also includes the latest data on COVID in workplaces, childcare centers, and public and private K-12 schools.

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 481.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (4)

Benton (9)

Clackamas (55)

Clatsop (4)

Columbia (13)

Coos (5)

Crook (1)

Deschutes (32)

Douglas (11)

Harney (1)

Hood River (1)

Jackson (23)

Jefferson (1)

Josephine (17)

Klamath (11)

Lake (2)

Lane (40)

Lincoln (3)

Linn (21)

Malheur (3)

Marion (29)

Morrow (3)

Multnomah (92)

Polk (11)

Sherman (2)

Tillamook (4)

Umatilla (5)

Union (1)

Wallowa (3)

Wasco (3)

Washington (61)

Yamhill (10)

And the Deaths:

The first 33 persons below were those reported yesterday but the details weren’t finalized until this morning. Nearly all are from January, February, or March. They are followed by the seven reported today, nearly all of whom are individuals we’ve lost in the last few days.

Oregon’s 2,395^th COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on Dec. 21 and died on Jan. 28 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,396^th COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on Feb. 28 and died on March 15 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,397^th COVID-19 death is a 36-year-old woman in Clackamas County who tested positive on March 24 and died on April 5 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,398^th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old woman in Coos County who tested positive on March 24 and died on April 5 at Bay Area Hospital.

Oregon’s 2,399^th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old woman in Columbia County who tested positive on Dec. 7 and died on March 29 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,400^th COVID-19 death is an 84-year-old woman in Crook County who tested positive on Jan. 8 and died on March 5 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,401^st COVID-19 death is an 87-year-old woman in Deschutes County who tested positive on Feb. 16 and died on March 15 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,402^nd COVID-19 death is a 61-year-old woman in Douglas County who tested positive on March 21 and died on April 3 at her residence. She had underlying conditions.

Oregon’s 2,403^rd COVID-19 death is an 83-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on March 21 and died on April 3 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,404^th COVID-19 death is an 89-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on Jan. 24 and died on Feb. 9 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,405^th COVID-19 death is a 76-year-old man in Douglas County who tested positive on Jan. 19 and died on Feb. 10 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,406^th COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man in Josephine County who tested positive on March 12 and died on March 17 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,407^th COVID-19 death is a 59-year-old woman in Josephine County who tested positive on March 10 and died on March 19 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,408^th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old woman in Jefferson County who tested positive on Jan. 9 and died on Feb. 11 at St. Charles Bend hospital.

Oregon’s 2,409^th COVID-19 death is a 41-year-old man in Lane County who tested positive on Nov. 18 and died on Jan. 1 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,410^th COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old man in Linn County who tested positive on Feb. 22 and died on March 21 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,411st COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Marion County who tested positive on March 23 and died on March 28 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,412nd COVID-19 death is an 85-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 24 and died on Feb. 11 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,413rd COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man in Multnomah County who tested positive on Jan. 15 and died on March 8 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,414^th COVID-19 death is a 50-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on March 8 and died on March 22 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,415^th COVID-19 death is a 95-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on March 10 and died on March 20 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,416^th COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on Nov. 4 and died on Jan. 19 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,417^th COVID-19 death is a 57-year-old woman in Polk County who tested positive on Jan. 28 and died on March 14 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 2,418^th COVID-19 death is a 47-year-old man in Umatilla County who tested positive on Feb. 2 and died on April 3 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,419^th COVID-19 death is a 94-year-old man in Wasco County who tested positive on Jan. 20 and died on Jan. 27 at Mid-Columbia Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,420^th COVID-19 death is a 93-year-old woman in Washington County who tested positive on Feb. 1 and died on March 27 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,421^st COVID-19 death is an 80-year-old man in Washington County who tested positive on Feb. 25 and died on March 2 at OHSU Health Hillsboro Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,422^nd COVID-19 death is a 71-year-old man in Washington County who died on March 23 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,423^rd COVID-19 death is a 73-year-old man in Washington County who died on March 22 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,424^th COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Feb. 26 and died on March 21 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,425^th COVID-19 death is a 92-year-old woman in Yamhill County who tested positive on Feb. 26 and died on March 6 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,426^th COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old man in Yamhill County who tested positive on Feb. 26 and died on March 18 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,427^th COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man in Yamhill County who tested positive on Nov. 19 and died on Jan. 26 at his residence.

                                                  * * *

Oregon’s 2,428th COVID-19 death is a 60-year-old man in Clackamas County who tested positive on March 29 and died on April 6 at his residence.

Oregon’s 2,429th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old woman in Douglas County who tested positive on Feb. 22 and died on March 25 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,430th COVID-19 death is a 96-year-old woman in Deschutes County who tested positive on March 29 and died on March 30 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,431st COVID-19 death is a 72-year-old man in Jackson County who tested positive on Feb. 1 and died on April 5 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,432nd COVID-19 death is a 51-year-old woman in Multnomah County who tested positive on March 9 and died on March 30 at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital.

Oregon’s 2,433rd COVID-19 death is a 67-year-old man in Polk County who tested positive on March 6 and died on April 5 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 2,434th COVID-19 death is a 48-year-old man in Union County who tested positive on Nov. 11 and died on March 23 at Legacy Emanuel 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:

• Multnomah County has a status report on reopening.
• You can view the reopening status of all 36 counties here.
• Here is the OHA’s coronavirus page, with links to a number of resources. 
• Oregon's Office of Emergency Management now has a website for information about COVID-19.
• Multnomah County has an excellent website with lots of really important advice and guidance.
• Here’s one from the Governor’s Office.
• The Employment Department has put together a webpage with Q&A’s on a number of employment issues related to COVID-19 (e.g., eligibility for Unemployment Insurance benefits).
• The Oregon Education Department has a site for COVID-19 updates.
• The Department of Corrections has a COVID tracking website.

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