February 17th COVID-19th Report

February 17, 2022

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 during this past week.

As you’ll see throughout this newsletter—in the graphs, the numbers, the links, the various reports—the long-anticipated steep declines in Omicron cases have indeed arrived.  Just as amazing as it was to see the numbers go up so fast in January, we are seeing them decline at equivalent rates in February.  We are on track to hit the goal of returning to pre-surge hospitalization levels by the end of March; in fact, the latest OHSU forecast suggests we may get there a little early.

The Governor, in consultation with her medical advisors, intends to rescind the current order requiring masking indoors for all Oregonians when we do hit that mark (fewer than 400 COVID hospitalizations). It’s a metric that makes a lot of sense; it means that we’ve successfully “flattened the curve,” easing the incredible strain that hospitals have been under.  We’ll be able to see more non-emergency medical procedures begin to be scheduled again.

While the removal of the masking mandate may happen before March 31^st if we hit that metric early, the March 31^st date will remain in place for schools, in order to provide more certainty around planning for the new policies.  It also coincides with the return from Spring break for most schools, so schools can reconvene from the break with the new procedures in place. 

The prospect of an end to masking and more of a return to group indoor dining and other activities has many of us very, very excited.  Many will want to jump the gun and move into this next phase more quickly, actually before the metrics warrant it.  It’s very tempting.  Based on past experience, if too many Oregonians do “jump the gun,” it may cause the declines to slow down.  We are seeing many states starting to lift their restrictions even though their hospitalization rates remain higher than ours.  Hopefully, they don’t come to regret that.

So far in this pandemic, Oregon’s infection and death rates have been half the national average.  I do hope that in the long run, thinking of our many loved ones who have been able to avoid severe illness and death, we will come to appreciate the standards that were put in place, and the willingness of most Oregonians to follow them.

But that’s not to say that these issues don’t remain extremely charged.  The Redmond School Board has just voted to defy the Governor’s order and eliminate required masking at the beginning of March.  We see anti-masking rallies at the Capitol and at suburban schools.  We hear speeches in the Legislature condemning the Governor and her “unelected medical advisors” for what’s being referred to as a power grab.

I do hope that someday we’ll be able to look back at these times and feel a sense of appreciation for the difficult decisions and personal sacrifices that have been made. The masks that people have been willing to wear in order not to unconsciously spread the virus to others.

Those thousands of avoided deaths of Oregonians didn’t just happen.  It wasn’t because we Oregonians are stronger or healthier or younger or just special—because, really, we’re not.  We’ve just been better than most at stepping up and following the science (I know, I know, that last is a loaded term—as you’ll see in one of the articles linked below.)

As for the week in the Legislature, I’ll have more to say about that in a newsletter I’ll be sending out this weekend.  For now, I’ll just say that most of the key bills are still alive, but the clock is ticking, seemingly louder and louder.  We now have “Reada,” our computer bill-reader at work in the Senate as well as in the House, as minority Republicans in both chambers have now decided to use the tactic of reading bills aloud in their entirety in order to slow things down and try to force concessions.  It took us an hour and a half for one bill to be read today. (It was a technical bill, merely eliminating every use of the word “alien,” meaning a non-citizen, from statute, replacing it with a less derogatory term.)

I’ll let you know more about this tactic and other developments in the next newsletter.

Until the next newsletter, please stay healthy and safe, and let me know if you have any questions about information in tonight’s newsletter or about what’s going on in the legislative session.

OREGON CORONAVIRUS AND CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE UPDATE

• New COVID Cases: OHA reports 1,844 new COVID cases today, vs. 3,176 last Thursday. That’s an average of 1,641per day for the last week (vs. 5,181 per day the previous week). The cumulative number of cases in Oregon since the beginning of the pandemic is 684,411.
• Variant COVID Cases:
  • OHA is now showing us not only this week’s variant cases but the growth of the different variants in Oregon over time. You can see in the graph above that Omicron remains responsible for nearly all the cases in this state This graph is updated every Wednesday.
  • OHA’s Variant Dashboard provides current and new variant case numbers for the state as a whole but also for different parts of the state. It too is updated each Wednesday.
• Positive Test Results: OHA reported 1,942 positive test results today (vs. 3,619 last Thursday). That’s an average of 2,332 per day for the 7 days since the last newsletter (vs. 3,920 per day the previous week). The cumulative total of positive test results since the beginning of the pandemic is now 902,759.
• Total Tests: OHA reported an additional 21,109 tests today (vs. 34,473 last Thursday). That’s an average of 20,394 per day for the last week (vs. 24,872 for the previous week). Our cumulative total of reported tests is 10,273,017.
• Positivity Rate: The test positivity ratio for Oregon today was 9.2% (vs. last week’s 12.9%). That’s an average of 11.4% per day for the last week (vs. 15.8% last week).
• Hospitalization Information:
  • Patients Currently with Confirmed COVID-19: 788 (219 fewer than last newsletter)
  • ICU Patients Confirmed w COVID-19: 147 (25 fewer than last newsletter.)
  • Confirmed COVID-19 Patients Currently on Ventilators: 67 (9 fewer than last newsletter)
  • Available Ventilators: 832 (10 fewer than last newsletter).
• Hospital Capacity:
  • Available Adult ICU Beds: 78 (11% availability) (24 more than last newsletter).
  • Other Available Adult Beds: 302 (7% availability) (56 more than last newsletter).
  • Available Pediatric ICU Beds: 7 (17% availability) (1 fewer than last Thursday).
  • Here’s a link to more OHA data on hospital capacity.
• Deaths: I’m sorry to report 28 additional COVID deaths today (vs. 22 last Thursday).  That’s an average of 14 per day for the week since the last newsletter (vs. 23 the previous week). The total number of COVID deaths in Oregon is 6,444.
• Vaccinations:
  • Today, OHA reported that 7,428 new doses of COVID-19 vaccinations were added to the state immunization registry Feb. 16. Of that total, 620 were initial doses, 755 were second doses and 1,875 were third doses and booster doses. The remaining 3,978 were administered on previous days but were entered into the vaccine registry Feb. 16.
  • The seven-day running average is now 5,722 doses per day (down from 7,159).
  • Total doses administered: 7,321,546
    • 4,116,430 Pfizer/Comimaty vaccines
    • 227,032 Pfizer Pediatric vaccines
    • 2,696,570 Moderna vaccines
    • 266,494 Johnson & Johnson vaccines
  • Total Oregonians vaccinated so far: 3,148,413 (up by 8,155 from last week)
    • 2,852,047 now fully vaccinated with two doses (up by 9,521 from the previous week)
  • So far, 76.7% of all Oregonians have received at least one dose
    • 81.1% of those 5 and older
    • 85.2% of those 12 and older
    • 86.6% of those 18 and older
    • 95% of those 65 and older
  • 68.4% of all Oregonians are now fully vaccinated
    • 72.3% of those 5 and older
    • 76.4% of those 12 and older
    • 77.7% of those 18 and older
    • 89.9% of those 65 and older
  • 50.6% of all Oregonians have received a booster shot
    • 52.4% of those 12 and older
    • 54.1% of those 18 and older
    • 74.0% of those 65 and older
  • All these percentages are from the CDC Data Tracker.They include vaccinations administered by the VA and Tribal Health Services.
  • For more details, including the demographics of those receiving the vaccine and the number of vaccinations by county, go to the OHA vaccinations dashboard.
  • Bloomberg Newsprovides a wealth of easy-to-read information on the trajectory of vaccinations—by state, nationally, and internationally.

Additional Brief Updates and Links

• Here’s the latest (as of Tuesday) on the patchwork of where states are on masking mandates.
• We’re getting signals from the CDC that changes in federal masking guidance may be coming soon.
• And here’s further reporting on potential federal changes.
• California has unveiled its plan for relaxed COVID requirements going forward.
• As individual states and the CDC are looking at lifting requirements, there is no lessening of the disagreements over how to proceed.
• Here’s another one of those sad, painful, moving stories about  a young family wracked by COVID, leading to difficult choices and many changes.
• A group of New York City teachers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the requirement that they be vaccinated against the Coronavirus because it violated their religious freedom. The Court declined to do so.
• Relevant to the above story, results of a new study suggest that infants born of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy are less likely to be hospitalized than those whose mothers were unvaccinated.
• Here’s an interesting piece from the Washington Post about how the phrase “Follow the Science!” has become a battle cry for those on both sides of the vaccine divide.
• As states are beginning to lift their masking requirements, their colleges and universities are following.
• There’s reason to believe that the time span between the first and second vaccine doses should be longer.  Here's why.
• Two new studies provide further proof of the power of vaccination following infection to increase resistance to reinfection.
• “Long COVID” appears to be less prevalent among the fully vaccinated.
• While the steep decline in Omicron cases has us thinking about the end of the pandemic, what does it mean to the immunocompromised? The Atlantic takes a deep dive.

Weekly County Report: Continuing Big Reductions Around the State

The latest OHA county report, showing increases/decreases in COVID spread for each county and for the state as a whole, was released on Monday. It shows case counts and rates for the last four weeks, including the week that ended Sunday, February 13.

The Omicron transmission numbers reported this week continue to be extremely high, but they are going down for the state as a whole, and in every county.

The statewide infection rate has gone from to 689.4 per 100K in the last report to 422.7 in this one; the test positivity rate has also gone down, from 18.2% last week to 13.7 this week.

As you’ll see in the report, the rates remain extremely high everywhere, but they are definitely coming down. Once again Multnomah County (which saw the largest infection rate at the beginning of the Omicron surge) had the state’s lowest infection and test positivity rates (finally getting back down below 10%).

OHA Weekly Report: Big Declines in New Cases, Positivity Rates, and Hospitalizations

OHA’s COVID-19 Weekly Report released on Wednesday, showed particularly large declines in weekly cases, but also significant declines in test positivity, COVID-19 hospitalizations, and deaths.

• OHA reported 16,991 new cases of COVID-19 during the week of Monday, Feb. 7 through Sunday, Feb. 13 – a 40% decline from the previous week, and a 70% drop over the past month.
• There were 794 COVID-19-related hospitalizations, an 18% decrease over the previous week.
• COVID-19-related deaths declined from 144 to 129.
• Reported COVID-19 test results dropped 16%. There were 164,021 tests administered.
• Test positivity dropped to 13.7%, a decline of nearly 10 percentage points from 22.6% two weeks ago.

Today’s COVID-19 Weekly Outbreak Report shows 339 total active outbreaks in care facilities, senior living communities and congregate living settings, nearly the same as last week’s 341.

1/13/21         202 facilities

2/10/21         116 facilities

3/10/21            44 facilities

4/14/21            24 facilities

5/12/21            42 facilities

6/09/21            19 facilities

7/8/21              22 facilities

8/4/21              33 facilities

9/1/21            144 facilities

10/6/21         163 facilities

11/3/21           87 facilities

12/1/21            54 facilities

1/05/22            64 facilities

1/12/22           128 facilities

1/20/22           210 facilities

1/26/22           273 facilities

 2/2/22            310 facilities

2/10/22           341 facilities

2/16/22           339 facilities.

Here are the numbers of deaths in our congregate care settings.  The numbers here will likely stay relatively high for a while, though overall their growth is abating.

8/4      1,374 (pandemic total)      

8/11    1,385 (pandemic total)       +11

9/1      1,441 (pandemic total)       +22

10/6    1,574 (pandemic total)       +27

11/03   1,701 (pandemic total)      +29

11/24  1,826 (pandemic total)       +36

12/1    1,847 (pandemic total)       +21

12/8    1,863 (pandemic total)       +16

12/15  1,890 (pandemic total)      +27

12/22  1,912 (pandemic total)       +22    

12/29   1,922 (pandemic total)      +10

01/05   1,923 (pandemic total)      + 1

01/12   1,946 (pandemic total)      +23

01/20   1,961 (pandemic total)      +15

01/26  1,971 (pandemic total)      +10

02/02  2,005 (pandemic total)      +34

02/10  2,031 (pandemic total)      +26

02/16  2,061 (pandemic total)      +30

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

The Latest Breakthrough Report: Share of Breakthrough Cases Continues to Rise, While Severe Cases Continue to Be Among the UNvaccinated

OHA’s most recent update on COVID-19 breakthrough cases, released today, reported 18,041 cases of COVID-19 during the week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12.

Of those cases, 7,834, or 43.4% (vs. last week’s 51.1%), were unvaccinated people and 8,732, or 48.4 %, were vaccine breakthrough cases. Among the breakthrough cases, 3,330, or 38.1%, were fully vaccinated and boosted (vs. last week’s 36.3%).

The latest breakthrough report can be found here.

Sixty-seven breakthrough cases involved residents of care facilities, senior living communities or other congregate care settings (down from 79 last week and 128 the week before).

To date, there have been 164,511 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon out of a total of 684,411. Of those cases, 34,692, or 21.1%, were fully vaccinated.

Where the vaccines continue to really make a difference is in preventing serious COVID cases.  Here, the gap between vaccinated and unvaccinated individual is increasing, not narrowing.  Nearly all breakthrough cases show no symptoms, or symptoms that are relatively mild. The percentage of breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths continues to go down.  To date, only 2.6% of the small percentage of vaccine breakthrough cases have been hospitalized (same as last week), and just 0.5% have died (vs. 0.6% last week). Nearly all the COVID patients in ICUs and on ventilators have been unvaccinated.

To date, there have been 145,313 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in Oregon, out of a total of 672,923.

To date, nearly 3 million Oregonians are fully vaccinated.

New Quarterly Report Update Sheds Light on Inequities Experienced by Racial and Ethnic Groups

From OHA:  OHA is publishing an updated quarterly report on age-adjusted rate ratios of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race and ethnicity over time. Age adjustment is a method used to quantify inequities among different racial and ethnic groups. When adjusted for age, people from Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, Latinx, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities have experienced disproportionate rates of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death. These inequities were acutely pronounced earlier in the pandemic and have decreased over the course of the pandemic. However, there continues to be inequities of COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations for communities of color and tribal communities.

New OHSU Forecast Shows Faster-Than-Expected Declines

The current OHSU Forecast Report, published today, uses data provided by OHA and others that project how fast the virus may spread in the population and provides projections on possible outcomes, including infection rates and impacts on hospital capacity.  The lead author is Dr. Peter Graven, Director of OHSU’s Office of Advanced Analytics

This forecast shows that the steep declines that were expected after we reached our peak have indeed arrived.  It now appears that we will reach the Governor’s goal of being able to lift mask mandates ahead of schedule—March 20^th, rather than March 31st.  That goal is predicated on our getting back to the pre-surge level of fewer than 400 COVID patients in hospital, which in turn is predicated on our continuing to follow COVID protocols to a large extent.  Compared to other states, only two of them have reached the equivalent of 400 COVID hospitalizations.  

Here are key observations in this week’s report:

• As of Feb. 17, 788 people were in Oregon hospitals, a sharp drop from 1,055 on Feb. 8. All Oregon regions are showing significant declines.
• Case counts and positive tests are decreasing.
• Oregon still has one of the nation’s highest masking rates but did show a drop. Other U.S. regions are showing larger declines.
• As of Feb. 15, 24% of occupied ICU beds in Oregon had COVID patients in them, down from 27% the week before.
• Fifteen children are in Oregon hospitals, a steep drop from a peak of 43 on Feb. 3.
• Flu cases remain low; 18 were reported, compared with 842 in a similar week two years ago. 
• Deaths increased in data through Feb. 5 and are expected to peak in the next week.
• The current forecast has been revised to account for the drop in hospitalizations. The decrease is important, but the pace is not expected to continue.
• The number of people in hospitals is expected to dip below 400 on March 20.

And the Deaths:

Here is information about the 100 additional deaths that have been reported since last Thursday’s newsletter, vs. 163 the week before.  The information about today’s 28 reported deaths has not yet been released. I'll include them in next week's newsletter.

OHA does have a dashboard that shows week-over-week numbers of deaths by actual date of death, not when the deaths were reported (i.e., they go back and plug those late-reports into the weeks they actually occurred.  You can find that dashboard here. It’s updated once a week.

Friday, February 11

Note from OHA: Oregon’s 1,968th COVID-19-related death was identified to be an out-of-state resident. As a result, the deaths are renumbered starting from 6,344.

Oregon’s 6,344th COVID-19-related death is an 86-year-old woman from Multnomah County who became symptomatic Dec. 5, 2021, and died Dec. 27, 2021, at her residence.

Oregon’s 6,345th COVID-19-related death is a 41-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Feb. 2 and died Feb. 7 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,346th COVID-19-related death is a 94-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 24 and died Feb. 10 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,347th COVID-19-related death is a 46-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Feb. 9 at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,348th COVID-19-related death is a 99-year-old woman from Union County who tested positive Feb. 2 and died Feb. 9 at Grande Ronde Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,349th COVID-19-related death is a 93-year-old man from Clackamas County who tested positive Feb. 6 and died Feb. 7 at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,350th COVID-19-related death is a 71-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Feb. 10 at Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,351st COVID-19-related death is an 82-year-old woman from Baker County who tested positive Jan. 11 and died Jan. 29 at her residence.

Oregon’s 6,352nd COVID-19-related death is an 83-year-old woman from Jackson County who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Jan. 29 at her residence.

Oregon’s 6,353rd COVID-19-related death is a 79-year-old woman from Jackson County who tested positive Jan. 19 and died Feb. 9 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,354th COVID-19-related death is an 84-year-old man from Crook County who tested positive Jan. 19 and died Feb. 5 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,355th COVID-19-related death is an 81-year-old man from Crook County who tested positive Oct. 5 and died Jan. 26 at his residence.

Saturday, February 12 through Monday, February 14

Oregon’s 6,356th COVID-19-related death is an 84-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 3 and died Feb. 10 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,357th COVID-19-related death is a 69-year-old woman from Douglas County who tested positive Jan. 9 and died Feb. 10 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,358th COVID-19-related death is a 64-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 14 and died Feb. 10 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,359th COVID-19-related death is a 71-year-old woman from Clackamas County who tested positive Dec. 29, 2021, and died Jan. 9 at Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,360th COVID-19-related death is a 72-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Feb. 3 and died Feb. 8 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

Oregon’s 6,361st COVID-19-related death is a 68-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Feb. 1 and died Feb. 9 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,362nd COVID-19-related death is a 74-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Dec. 8, 2021, and died Dec. 20, 2021, at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

Oregon’s 6,363rd COVID-19-related death is a 79-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive Feb. 1 and died Feb. 10 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,364th COVID-19-related death is a 66-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive Feb. 11 and died Feb. 11 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,365th COVID-19-related death is a 71-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive Feb. 5 and died Feb. 12 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,366th COVID-19-related death is a 51-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive Jan. 26 and died Feb. 12 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. \

Oregon’s 6,367th COVID-19-related death is a 60-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive Dec. 27, 2021, and died Feb. 9 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,368th COVID-19-related death is a 67-year-old woman from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 28 and died Feb. 11 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,369th COVID-19-related death is a 65-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Jan. 24 and died Feb. 7 at Adventist Health Portland.

Oregon’s 6,370th COVID-19-related death is an 89-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 31 and died Feb. 10 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,371st COVID-19-related death is a 75-year-old woman from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Feb. 8 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,372nd COVID-19-related death is an 84-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 19 and died Feb. 10 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,373rd COVID-19-related death is an 83-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive Feb. 3 and died Feb. 8 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

Tuesday, February 15

Oregon’s 6,374th COVID-19-related death is a 61-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Sept. 18, 2021, and died Sept. 16, 2021, at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,375th COVID-19-related death is a 58-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Oct. 2, 2021, and died Oct. 1, 2021, at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,376th COVID-19-related death is a 79-year-old woman from Marion County who tested positive Nov. 5, 2021, and died Dec. 9, 2021, at Santiam Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,377th COVID-19-related death is a 41-year-old man from Multnomah County who tested positive Dec. 7, 2021, and died Dec. 7, 2021, at Adventist Health Portland.

Oregon’s 6,378th COVID-19-related death is an 82-year-old woman from Deschutes County who tested positive Dec. 30, 2021 and died Jan. 6 at St. Charles Bend.

Oregon’s 6,379th COVID-19-related death is a 76-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Feb. 9 and died Feb. 10 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,380th COVID-19-related death is a 92-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Jan. 29 and died Feb. 12 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,381st COVID-19-related death is a 48-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Jan. 28 and died Feb. 10 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,382nd COVID-19-related death is an 85-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Jan. 25 and died Feb. 10 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,383rd COVID-19-related death is a 78-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Jan. 26 and died Feb. 11 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,384th COVID-19-related death is a 77-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Jan. 18 and died Feb. 9 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,385th COVID-19-related death is a 79-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Dec. 6, 2021, and died Dec. 16, 2021, at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,386th COVID-19-related death is a 69-year-old man from Lane County who tested positive Nov. 29, 2021, and died Dec. 15, 2021, at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,387th COVID-19-related death is a 65-year-old man from Umatilla County who tested positive Feb. 6 and died Feb. 11 at Providence St. Mary Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,388th COVID-19-related death is an 82-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive Jan. 31 and died Feb. 13 at Asante Three River Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,389th COVID-19-related death is an 84-year-old man from Jefferson County who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Feb. 9 at St. Charles Bend.

Oregon’s 6,390th COVID-19-related death is a 77-year-old woman from Jefferson County who tested positive Jan. 10 and died Feb. 12 at St. Charles Bend.

Oregon’s 6,391st COVID-19-related death is a 78-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive Feb. 3 and died Feb.13 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,392nd COVID-19-related death is a 72-year-old man from Jackson County who tested positive Jan. 24 and died Feb. 12 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,393rd COVID-19-related death is a 70-year-old man from Coos County who tested positive Jan. 22 and died Feb. 13 at Bay Area Hospital.

Wednesday, February 16

Oregon’s 6,394th COVID-19-related death is a 74-year-old woman from Washington County who tested positive Jan. 19 and died Jan. 27 at Kaiser Westside Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,395th COVID-19-related death is a 59-year-old man from Linn County who tested positive Jan. 1 and died Feb. 10 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,396th COVID-19-related death is an 85-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Feb. 10 and died Feb. 13 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,397th COVID-19-related death is a 94-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Feb. 3 and died Feb. 12 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,398th COVID-19-related death is an 81-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 29 and died Feb. 9 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,399th COVID-19-related death is a 77-year-old woman from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 13 and died Feb. 13 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,400th COVID-19-related death is a 57-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 23 and died Feb. 8 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,401st COVID-19-related death is a 71-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Feb. 11 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,402nd COVID-19-related death is a 52-year-old man from Marion County who tested positive Dec. 12, 2021 and died Feb. 8 at Salem Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,403rd COVID-19-related death is an 83-year-old man from Malheur County who tested positive Jan. 28 and died Feb. 12 at St Alphonsus Medical Center Ontario.

Oregon’s 6,404th COVID-19-related death is an 86-year-old woman from Linn County who tested positive Feb. 4 and died Feb. 11 at Santiam Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,405th COVID-19-related death is a 55-year-old woman from Lane County who tested positive Feb. 11 and died Feb. 13 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend.

Oregon’s 6,406th COVID-19-related death is a 74-year-old man from Josephine County who tested positive Jan. 27 and died Feb. 13 at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,407th COVID-19-related death is a 74-year-old woman from Hood River County who tested positive Feb. 14 and died Feb. 15 at Providence Hood River Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,408th COVID-19-related death is a 93-year-old man from Douglas County who tested positive Feb. 6 and died Feb. 13 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,409th COVID-19-related death is an 88-year-old woman from Douglas County who tested positive Feb. 9 and died Feb. 13 at Mercy Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,410th COVID-19-related death is a 96-year-old woman from Douglas County who tested positive Jan. 17 and died Feb. 10 at her residence.

Oregon’s 6,411th COVID-19-related death is a 61-year-old man from Curry County who tested positive Feb. 3 and died Feb. 15 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,412th COVID-19-related death is an 84-year-old woman from Coos County who tested positive Feb. 14 and died Feb. 15 at Bay Area Hospital.

Oregon’s 6,413th COVID-19-related death is a 75-year-old man from Yamhill County who tested positive Jan. 21 and died Jan. 31 at his residence.

Oregon’s 6,414th COVID-19-related death is a 64-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive Jan. 7 and died Feb. 5 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,415th COVID-19-related death is a 56-year-old man from Washington County who tested positive Feb. 7 and died Feb. 5 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregon’s 6,416th COVID-19-related death is an 82-year-old woman from Washington County who tested positive Jan. 22 and died Feb. 12 at OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center.

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 lislative 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

• Here is the OHA’s coronavirus page, with links to a number of resources. 

• Here’s a daily data tracker from the CDC.

• Oregon's Office of Emergency Management 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 Department of Education 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