May 24th COVID-19 Update

Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 05/24/2021 10:46 PM PDT
Michael Dembrow

May 24, 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.

Most COVID metrics are down today, not surprisingly for a Monday, when weekend numbers are reported.  An exception is hospitalizations, which are up a bit after the declines of the last few days.  Looking over a slightly longer term the county metrics released today show ongoing declines for the third week in a row.

On the legislative front, I’m pleased to report that Senate Republicans granted “rules suspension” today, allowing us to dispense with the protracted reading aloud of bills.  It was for today only, so we’ll see whether it happens again tomorrow.  And perhaps we'll see if there's a price tag attached to future rules suspensions.

I must admit, it felt pretty strange to be on and off the floor in just a little over an hour today.  If this continues, I’m sure we’ll start see many more bills being scheduled each day.  With the deadline approaching for committees to pass bills to the floor, we’ll see a flood of additional bills heading to the floor this week and next. 

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

 

intro

 

TODAY’S CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

  • New COVID Cases: OHA reports 284 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 198,972.
  • Variant COVID Cases: The most recent variant case counts include case counts include 716 (up from 425) cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 78 cases (up from 29) of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 56 (up from 35) cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant. In addition, we are now seeing 237 (up from 196) cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 631 (up from 586) of the B.1.429 variant.  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 759 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 288,414.
  • Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 14,769 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 5,053,617.
  • Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 5.5%.
  • Hospitalization Information:
    • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 266 (18 more than yesterday)
    • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 75 (4 more than yesterday).
    • Available ICU Beds: 166 (10 more than Friday)
    • Other Available Beds: 581 (29 more than Friday).
    • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 39 (same as Friday).
    • Available Ventilators: 776 (15 fewer than Friday).
  • Deaths: I’m sorry to report 2 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,624.
  • Vaccinations:
    • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
      • New Immunizations Reported Today: 21,156
        • 11,414 were conducted and reported yesterday
        • 9,742 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 30,339 doses per day.
  • Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 3,786,267
    • 2,108,625 Pfizer doses
    • 1,541,985 Moderna doses
    • 133,941 Johnson & Johnson doses
  • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 3,786,267
    • 1,740,904 now fully vaccinated with two doses
  • To date, 4,774,945 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (That’s 28,710 additional doses so far week. The big increase will be reported tomorrow.)
    • 79.3% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 80.3%.
    • 53.2% of Oregonians have received at least one dose (60.7% of those 16 and older, 64.0% of those 18+, which is the CDC standard).
    • 42.6% of Oregonians are now fully vaccinated (49.7% of those 16 and older).
  • Additional Brief Updates:
    • OHA has released the latest County Metrics Report for the past week. As you’ll see, the statewide infection rate and test positivity rate have continued to go down, as they have in nearly every county.
    • The good people at the Virginia Garcia Health Center in Washington County, who have always been there for the local Latinx community, have really stepped up during the pandemic. Here's a list of their upcoming vaccination drives.
    • With the successful rollout of vaccines for pre-teens and teens, the long-anticipated widespread detection testing in schools, previously championed by the Biden administration, may be in jeopardy. Here's the story from Politico.
    • One of the limiting factors in creating robust summer learning programs is an educator workforce that is exhausted and ready for a post-COVID break. Here's how it's playing out in Washington, D.C.
    • One of the themes that we’ve heard during the pandemic is the need to support restaurant workers who are continuing to work under very difficult circumstances. We’ve been encouraged to tip generously in order to show our support for them.  Nevertheless, and despite the fact that most of us have not seen a reduction in our ability to spend, according to this article from Vox, tipping levels have actually gone down during the pandemic.
    • And here’s a similar story from the Washington Post. This one focuses on a related phenomenon: how the imposed time-out caused by the pandemic caused many restaurant workers to realize they'd had it with restaurant work.
    • We should be hearing from the Governor tomorrow that Multnomah County will be moving to Lower Risk status this week. Normally, the move would happen on Friday.  It appears that this time the move will happen on Thursday.  Why? It's the NBA Championships home opener for the Blazers!

 

Where Are Today’s  Cases?

If we put together the positive test results and new “presumptive cases” reported today, the overall number of new cases reported is 334.  Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Benton (6)

Clackamas (46)

Clatsop (1)

Columbia (2)

Coos (3)

Crook (3)

Curry (1)

Deschutes (11)

Douglas (8)

Harney (2)

Jackson (19)

Jefferson (4)

Josephine (3)

Lane (30)

Lincoln (1)

Linn (17)

Marion (32)

Multnomah (48)

Polk (9)

Sherman (1)

Wasco (1)

Washington (27)

Yamhill (9)

 

And the Deaths:

Oregon’s 2,623rd COVID-19 death is a 70-year-old woman from Jackson County who tested positive on May 3 and died on May 21 at Providence Medford Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,624th COVID-19 death is a 78-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive on May 21 and died on May 22 at Providence Medford Medical Center.

 

cases
cases 7
cases 14
positive
tests
percent
hospitalizations
icu
ventilators
deaths

 

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,

dembrow signature

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