|
April 27, 2021
Dear Neighbors and Friends,
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 nothing particularly noteworthy about today’s COVID report. As you’ll see, cases are up somewhat, as are COVID hospitalizations, though the number of COVID patients in the ICU has gone down somewhat in today’s reporting. We remain well ensconced in the current surge here in Oregon.
Vaccinations are about where they’ve been for a Tuesday report. We can expect the numbers to rise as the week goes on. Still, for whatever reason, vaccinations are lower than they should be, especially outside of the Portland metro area. We’re getting reports of some states where 60% of their adult population has received at least their first dose; here in Oregon we’re not yet at 50%.
The big (unwelcome) news today—not unexpected—is the impending return of 15 counties to Extreme Risk status as a result of our current COVID metrics. This is not a place that any of us were hoping for or expecting to be at this point in the pandemic, but a combination of spreading COVID variants and “COVID fatigue” seems to be putting us there. The Governor and her advisors expect this to be the final surge and a short-lived one; let’s hope they’re right. You can read more about this further down in the newsletter.
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 740 new COVID cases today. The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 182,040.
-
Variant COVID 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. The reported numbers have increased: 112 (up from 69) cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 7 cases (up from 4) of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 10 (up from 8) cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant. In addition, we are now seeing 140 (up from124) cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 479 (up from 474) of the B.1.429 variant.
-
Positive Test Results: OHA reported 994 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 262,881.
-
Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 10,632 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 4,633,569.
-
Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 6.7%.
-
Hospitalization Information:
- Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 328 (9 more than yesterday)
- ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 71 (6 fewer than yesterday).
- Available ICU Beds: 155 (9 fewer than yesterday)
- Other Available Beds: 494 (116 fewer than yesterday).
- Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 32 (3 fewer than yesterday).
- Available Ventilators: 799 (1 fewer than yesterday).
-
Deaths: I’m sorry to report 2 additional COVID deaths today. The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,488.
-
Vaccinations:
- As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
- New Immunizations Reported Today: 28,212
- 16,907 were conducted yesterday
- 11,305 were conducted earlier, but the reports were received yesterday (there can potentially be a three-day window for reporting)
- The 7-day running average is now 34,529 doses per day.
- Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 2,854,314
- 1,516,929 Pfizer doses
- 1,243,460 Moderna doses
- 92,724 Johnson & Johnson doses
- Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 1,753,789
- 1,188,803 now fully vaccinated with two doses
- To date, 3,573,735 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s an additional 173,320 coming in this week.)
-
Additional Brief Updates:
- Here’s reporting from the Oregonian about what the new risk levels (see below) mean for dining.
- Following up on yesterday’s reporting of the policing bills passed by the Oregon House, here’s a useful summary from OPB’s Jonathan Levinson.
- From Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis and the Oregon Employment Department: a deep dive into why Oregon is looking at a labor shortage.
- A poll by the Washington Post shows that 25% of U.S. women and 27% of people of color arefinancially worse off than they were a year ago. Perhaps not surprisingly, the results are not as bad for white men.
- CNN reports that more people are getting their second doses of a COVID vaccine than their first. Read more.
May Day! May Day! Constituent Coffee Coming!
May Day this year is this Saturday, May 1. And that of course means my monthly constituent coffee from 9 a.m. to 10:30ish. This is your chance to zoom in, let me know what your concerns are, hear what’s going on at the Capitol and behind the scenes, and get a prognosis of what’s before us in the coming weeks.
To register for this one, click on this link.
Hope to see you there!
15 Counties Head to Extreme Risk Status
As expected, the Governor will not block the 15 counties whose COVID metrics warrant it from moving into Extreme Risk status on Friday. This is due to a combination of increasing hospitalization rates statewide and increasing infection rates in those counties.
As of Friday, the following counties will move into Extreme Risk status:
- Baker
- Clackamas
- Columbia
- Crook
- Deschutes
- Grant
- Jackson
- Josephine
- Klamath
- Lane
- Linn
- Marion
- Multnomah
- Polk
- Wasco
Nine counties will be in the High Risk level, four at Moderate Risk, and eight at Lower Risk. A complete list of counties and their risk levels is available here.
Again, here is the latest OHA County Metrics Report with each county’s current metrics. You can see the specific activities allowed for each risk level in this chart.
In a press release issued today, the Governor acknowledged the difficulty that this return to Extreme Risk status will mean for the affected counties. Her hope is that this return will be short-lived and called on Oregonians to get themselves, their friends, and their loved ones vaccinated as quickly as possible in order to beat the spread of the COVID variants that are driving our current surge. Her release also called for the following:
- $20 million in relief for businesses hurt by the new restrictions
- Weekly analyses (rather than the current biweekly) that would allow counties to move to lower status more quickly. The current placements are from April 30 to May 6.
- Outdoor capacity for restaurants, bars, and other venues will be increased.
Finally, here’s a message that legislators received from the Governor’s Office today:
The Governor is committed to this being a short event – no more than three weeks. We are asking Oregonians to sign up to get vaccinated, move events outdoors, follow all guidance, and help us drive down county rates. We are increasing capacity for outdoor dining and other outdoor establishments to help businesses stay open while keeping transmission rates down. We are also asking hospitals to closely monitor capacity and use surge capacity plans as needed. Finally, we are asking all of you to work with us to get emergency relief to affected Oregon businesses.
Of note, we are moving to a weekly metrics update for the next three weeks, as opposed to the every other week pattern we have been in. That means there will not be a waiting week for counties to enter or exit extreme risk, and will allow us to evaluate hospital data weekly in the hopes of closing back down the extreme risk level as soon as possible.
New Guidance from the CDC Regarding Wearing Masks Outdoors
The CDC has issued a new set of recommendations for when masks should be worn or need not be worn outside. It recognizes the new science on aerosol spread, which suggests that outdoor activities are much safer than indoor activities. It also recognizes the growing number of Americans who are becoming fully vaccinated. It does still recommend caution when getting into close proximity to someone who might not be fully vaccinated—in those situations, masking is still advised.
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 740. Here is today’s breakdown by county:
Baker (5)
Benton (16)
Clackamas (64)
Clatsop (8)
Columbia (10)
Coos (6)
Crook (9)
Curry (4)
Deschutes (80)
Douglas (15)
Grant (7)
Harney (5)
Hood River (1)
Jackson (29)
Jefferson (3)
Josephine (8)
Klamath (45)
Lake (4)
Lane (67)
Lincoln (3)
Linn (23)
Malheur (8)
Marion (48)
Morrow (2)
Multnomah (116)
Polk (8)
Tillamook (2)
Umatilla (15)
Wallowa (2)
Wasco (4)
Washington (114)
Yamhill (11)
And the Deaths:
Oregon’s 2,487th COVID-19 death is an 88-year-old woman from Harney County who tested positive on Feb. 8 and died on March 21 at her residence.
Oregon’s 2,488th COVID-19 death is an 86-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive on April 22 and died on April 26 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
| 
