June 5th COVID-19 Update

June 5, 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.

Today’s reported numbers (which reflect yesterday’s activity) show ongoing declines in cases and hospitalizations and an increase in vaccinations.

As you’ll see below in the summary of the most recent Weekly Covid Data and Outbreak Reports, the declines are a continuation of the longer-term trends we’ve been experiencing for the past month.

By the middle of next week, we should begin to get a sense of whether or not the Memorial Day holiday weekend created a jump in new cases, as all holiday weekends have in the past.  So far so good.

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 330 new COVID cases today.  The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 202,995.
• Variant COVID Cases: Here are the cumulative case counts for the COVID variants in Oregon: 1,152 (up from 983) cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant, 176 cases (up from 142) of the P.1 (Brazilian) variant, and 86 (up from 80) cases of the B.1.351 (South African) variant.  In addition, we are now seeing 277 (up from 257) cases of the B.1.427 variant, and 700 (up from 688) of the B.1.429 variant.  OHA is now producing a  Variant Dashboard, providing current variant case numbers for the state as a whole and for various parts of the state.  It’s updated each Wednesday.
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 448 positive tests today. The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 294,313.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 14,446 tests today. Our cumulative total of reported tests is now 5,197,709.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today is 3.6%.
• Hospitalization Information: OHA only reports on the first two bulleted items over the weekend.  I’ll provide updates for the others on Monday.
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 196 (23 fewer than yesterday)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 60 (3 more than yesterday).
  • Available ICU Beds: 158 (12 more than yesterday)
  • Other Available Beds: 488 (30 more than yesterday).
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 29 (1 fewer than yesterday).
  • Available Ventilators: 783 (19 more than yesterday).
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 5 additional COVID deaths today.  The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is now 2,691.
• Vaccinations:
  • As of the end of yesterday, here are the latest numbers:
    • New Immunizations Reported Today: 27,772
      • 13,364 were conducted and reported yesterday
      • 14,408 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 16.749 doses per day.

• Total First and Second Doses Administered So Far: 4,049,064
  • 2,265,248 Pfizer doses
  • 1,633,377 Moderna doses
  • 148,513 Johnson & Johnson doses
• Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 2,274,139
  • 1,913,386 now fully vaccinated with two doses
• To date, 5,289,645 doses of vaccine have been delivered to sites across Oregon. (The total number of doses coming in last week was 199,590.)
  • 76.5% of these doses have been administered so far. The national average is now 80.8%.
  • 55.6% of Oregonians have received at least one dose (63.0% of those 16 and older,*** 66.2% of those 18+,*** which is the CDC standard).
  • 46.6% of Oregonians are now fully vaccinated (54.0% of those 16 and older)***.
    • ***OHA doesn’t update these numbers on the weekend.

• For more details, including the demographics of those receiving the vaccine and the counties in which the vaccines are being administered, 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

• Want to see how close each county is to hitting the 65% target for moving to lower risk? Here's an interactive map showing percentages for total population and for eligible population (residents age 16+).  It shows how close each county is to hitting the 65% target.

• Additional Brief Updates:
  • While some people are emerging from COVID restrictions slowly and cautiously, for others, "It's like the end of Prohibition!"
  • The New York Times has a fun feature on four California high schools for whom the pandemic was not going to get in the way of the ultimate symbol of normalcy:  THE PROM!!! OK, there were modifications, testing and vaccination requirements, and attempts at masking, but the spirit was clearly there.
  • On the other hand, for those teens and their parents slow to get vaccinated, here's a sobering message from the CDC Director.
  • The New York Times looks at the divergent paths that Europe and the U.S. are taking with respect to reopening right now.
  • OPB’s John Notoriani speaks to Ashby Reed, the Stanford University architect of Oregon’s vaccine lottery, about the lottery and other motivational incentive programs.

Weekly COVID Data and Outbreak Reports Released:  Declines Continue

I somehow missed the release of the Weekly Reports on Thursday (there was a delay from the usual Wednesday release as a result of the holiday).  Sorry about that.  Here they are.

The OHA COVID-19 Weekly Report shows decreases in daily cases and hospitalizations but an increase in deaths from the previous week (as a result of late reporting of deaths that actually occurred in previous months).

• OHA reported 2,677 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, May 24, through Sunday, May 30. That represents a 13% decrease from the previous week.
• New COVID-19 related hospitalizations fell to 190, down from 224 last week and the lowest figure in six weeks.  
• Reported COVID-19 related deaths were 50, up from 34 last week.
• There were 94,084 tests for COVID-19 for the week of May 23 through May 29 — a 12% decrease from last week.
• The percentage of positive tests fell from 5.4% to 4.5%. Again, the goal is to keep the positivity rate below 5%, a threshold that was breached for several weeks during the most recent surge.

Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 31 active COVID-19 outbreaks in senior living communities and congregate living settings.

          12/9/20         191 facilities

          1/13/21         202 facilities

          2/10/21         116 facilities

          3/10/21          44 facilities

         4/14/21          24 facilities

         4/21/21          24 facilities

         4/28/21          34 facilities

          5/5/21           42 facilities

          5/12/21         42 facilities

          5/19/21         40 facilities

           5/26/21        32 facilities

            6/3/21         31 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  Cases?

If we put together the positive test results and new “presumptive cases” reported today, the overall number of new cases reported is 330. Here is today’s breakdown by county:

Baker (2)

Benton (7)

Clackamas (37)

Clatsop (2)

Columbia (11)

Crook (4)

Deschutes (16)

Douglas (19)

Harney (1)

Hood River (3)

Jackson (12)

Jefferson (3)

Josephine (3)

Klamath (8)

Lake (1)

Lane (25)

Lincoln (1)

Linn (17)

Malheur (3)

Marion (33)

Morrow (1)

Multnomah (44)

Polk (2)

Tillamook (1)

Umatilla (15)

Union (2)

Wallowa (2)

Wasco (5)

Washington (21)

Yamhill (29)

And the Deaths:

Oregon’s 2,687^th death is a 79-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive on May 17 and died on June 1 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,688^th death is a 79-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive on May 18 and died on May 31 at Kaiser Willamette Falls Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,689^th death is a 72-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive on May 22 and died on June 4 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center.

Oregon’s 2,690^th death is a 90-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive on May 27 and died on June 2 at her residence.

Oregon’s 2,691^st death is a 78-year-old woman from Klamath County who tested positive on May 12 and died on May 29 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

• 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