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Coronavirus Update 3/24/2020 10 am

Writer's picture: Lisa Reynolds, MDLisa Reynolds, MD

Coronavirus Update

3/24/2020 10:00 am

Lisa Reynolds MD


This is Lisa Reynolds, MD. Portland Pediatrician, mom and daughter. Candidate for Oregon HD36.


Coronavirus: The numbers

  • WORLDWIDE: 382,000 confirmed cases, 17,000 deaths, 166 countries

  • US: 43,500 confirmed cases, 537 deaths

  • OREGON: 192 confirmed cases, 5 deaths. (WA 2200 cases/110 deaths)

  • US Stay at Home orders are in place in 16 states, 9 counties and 3 cities, covering about half of all Americans. (And now includes Oregon, see below)


OREGON update

  • Oregon’s Governor Brown issues Executive Order 20-12: Stay Home, Save Lives. (3/23/2020) This does the following:

    • Oregonians need to stay home except for the following tasks:

      • Medical Appointments

      • Grocery shopping and getting take out food

      • Outdoor Exercise

      • And, all must maintain social distancing of 6 feet from others in these activities.

    • Must close within 24 hours: Non essential “retail” businesses/non profits in which personal contact is hard to avoid:

      • Gyms, nail shops, malls, museums, ski resorts…

    • Essential businesses: grocery stores, pharmacies, medical facilities, those necessary for infrastructure. (Bars & restaurants remain open for take out food.)

    • Can remain open: Childcare centers can continue operation, prioritizing children of those who are first responders and health care staff. Each room in a center must have less than 10 people per room. This group of 10 or fewer must be “stable” (the same group every day).

    • Prohibited: gatherings, parties, or in-person socializing.

    • Work Remotely: All other businesses are strongly encouraged to arrange for remote work. If work must be done in person, maintain social distancing of 6 feet

    • Closed: All campgrounds, all state parks, all playgrounds/outdoor sport courts and sports fields/skate parks/pools. Other parts of public parks are open for recreation. Parks must post signs mandating social distancing.

    • Closed: Trails in the waterfall corridor of the Columbia Gorge (Oregon side): from Bridal Veil Falls to Ainsworth State Park (including historic highway).

    • Non-essential travel is banned. Essential travel: To essential workplaces, to get food or health care, to visit close family of those in need, and to home.

    • Violations are a Class C misdemeanor (subject to $1250 fine or up to 30 days in jail)


    • The order was effective immediately and remains in place until terminated by the Governor.


Yes, this means massive disruption in our work and our education and our personal lives. The lives of Oregonians and the safety of our health system depend on making the right choices right now. REMEMBER THE CURVE. We need to #Flattenthecurve


  • Governor Brown also extended a moratorium on evictions for those renters who cannot make rent due to COVID19 to include the entire state.

  • Testing is still in low numbers in Oregon. We know the actual numbers of people with COVID19 is much higher than the confirmed cases. Providence is the only hospital system conducting in-house tests. Its capacity is 600 tests/day. Other hospital systems are expected to follow.

  • Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) supplies remain inadequate but are improving given donations from other industries, ramping up production of equipment and repurposing factories to manufacture PPE. Legacy Health Systems is holding off for now on having folks make medical masks at home.

  • ICU equipment and hospital beds are also felt to be insufficient to accommodate the anticipated number of sick people. (Extreme social distancing is designed to lower this anticipated number.)

  • The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Coronavirus Response met Mon 3/23 for a third meeting and discussed how to best financially support businesses and out of work Oregonians (especially those who do not qualify for unemployment) during this time. A special session of the legislature is expected to be called.



Other Updates:

  • The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed until summer 2021.



What to do - the list is pretty short now

  • Stay Home, Stay Healthy

  • We really should call it PHYSICAL distancing, not social distancing: Look for ways to engage - I’ve been video conferencing with friends.

  • Continue to wash hands/hand sanitizer. Try not to touch your face. If you’re in an essential job, strip down and shower when you get home, and wash your clothes. And, thank you.

  • Donate Blood - blood drives have been cancelled but we still need blood donors.

  • CALL your US Members of Congress about the US Bailout package and the Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act. Scripts and phone numbers here.


Services

  • Many Oregon internet companies are offering free service; energy and telecommunications utilities are suspending service disconnections, and waiving late fees to support Oregonians impacted by coronavirus. In addition, state and federal programs can provide assistance to qualified individuals and households. Read more here.

  • Portland public schools is providing meals for families. Details here.

  • Medical students and nursing students, whose classes are cancelled, are offering childcare and other services for health care workers. Twitter users can send a direct message to Medical student Emily Lane at @EmilyCALane. There’s also a program hotline: 503-383-9776.

  • The state and the federal governments are pouring more resources to help businesses and employees affected by furloughs, layoffs, decreased hours and lost revenue. More information: unemployment benefits, small businesses.



What I’m worried about

  • Of course, disease and illness overwhelming our health system.

    • Doctors will have to decide who gets life saving treatment (ventilators) and who doesn’t because equipment is in short supply.

    • Doctors getting sick because of inadequate PPE.

    • The health and safety of my friends and family

  • That Oregon public schools are not equipped (nor do they seem to be making plans to become equipped) to provide substantive online learning. See this article. This will lead to a larger learning and performance gap for our vulnerable kids. This could have lifelong consequences for those kids whose families cannot fill the void. The inequities in our education system was a driving force for me to run for office. Washington state is calling on its schools to continue instruction. We can do hard things and must. Our kids’ futures depend on finding a solution and not writing off weeks or months of instruction. Remember, the brain is a muscle (this is metaphor) and must be used!!!





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This website is written by Lisa Reynolds, MD, Portland, Oregon Pediatrician on the front lines of the coronavirus epidemic. Mom and daughter. Candidate for Oregon HD36.

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Lisa Reynolds, M.D., Announces COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery 

Legislative Framework

Proposed framework prioritizes health of all Oregonians, with phased restart of state’s economy

 

April 17, 2020 (Portland, OR) - Lisa Reynolds, M.D., a physician and candidate for Oregon House of Representatives-District 36 (NW/SW Portland), released a legislative framework called the Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act, with the goal of making this the first bill of the 2021-22 legislative session (HB-1). 

 

“In the next weeks and months ahead, I plan to work with state leaders, as well as community and business leaders, to help design Oregon's transition and recovery from the pandemic,” said Reynolds. “If we do this right, Oregon can come out better than ever. And of course, I will continue to reach out to Oregonians about what they need right now so we can help.” 

 

The Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act, a bold response to COVID-19’s unprecedented threat to Oregonians lives and livelihoods, consists of three major components:

 

  1. A large-scale and ongoing public health response that utilizes universal testing, contact tracing, and isolating the ill and the exposed.

  2. The moonshot goal of achieving widespread (“herd”) immunity (80-90 percent) to COVID-19 through demonstrated antibodies and/or vaccination. This is a prerequisite to full economic and societal opening.

  3. Post-pandemic massive investment to modernize Oregon’s healthcare system, schools and infrastructure through the sale of Oregon COVID Bonds.

 

Oregon COVID Bonds would allow Oregonians, as well as others around the country and the world, to invest in Oregon. “This will allow the state to build a healthcare system that improves the health of every Oregonian, to complete long-neglected infrastructure projects and to modernize our schools,” stated Reynolds.  

 

“I want everyone to understand that the 2021-22 legislative session must be focused entirely on pandemic response and recovery,” said Reynolds. “I believe we can rebuild Oregon and make us stronger and more equitable in the process.” This legislative framework also accounts for a lack of federal leadership, positioning Oregon as a national leader.

 

The latest numbers in Oregon show that the state is predicted to peak on April 26. As a result of Governor Brown’s Stay Home Order, Oregon’s hospital systems have sufficient capacity to care for those sickest with COVID-19. Reynolds says that eventually, the cumulative number of new illnesses and deaths will plateau. Oregon will then enter a period of transition, and once sufficient herd immunity is achieved, we can move into post-pandemic recovery.

 

“As a physician, I have prepared my entire career for this moment,” says Reynolds. “We cannot rely on the status quo or politics as usual. We need leaders with medical expertise who can work across the aisle and bring fresh perspectives at this critical time in our history. We need courageous and bold action to make sure that Oregon comes out of this crisis stronger and more equitable than before.” 

 

Reynolds, who was recently endorsed by the Portland Tribune “[for] her invaluable insight for these troubling times”, also says that, “every state policy and every state agency will need to prioritize spending and services through the lens of the pandemic.” 

 

Read the full legislative framework here. Visit Reynolds’ COVID-19 website at oregoncoronavirusupdate.com or her campaign website LisaForOregon.com. Follow Dr. Reynolds on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (@lisafororegon).

 

###

 

Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act Legislative Framework

 

Following is a legislative framework for a successful and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic called the Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act (HB-1). This legislative framework was drafted by Lisa Reynolds, M.D., candidate for Oregon State House of Representatives-District 36. Dr. Reynolds, who will solicit feedback from voters about what the Oregon State Legislature needs to focus on in the upcoming 2021-2022 legislative session. 

 

Dr. Reynolds will also work with state leaders, as well as community and business leaders, to identify the most impactful and cost-effective steps to get Oregonians back on solid ground. The Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act is a bold response to COVID-19’s unprecedented threat to Oregonians’ lives and livelihood. The framework consists of three major components:

 

  1. A large-scale and ongoing public health response that utilizes universal testing, tracing of all contacts, and isolating the ill and the exposed. Extensive, if not universal, testing, both for the presence of the virus, that is, contagiousness, and presence of antibody, or immunity, is necessary before any significant reopening of the economy. Testing must be followed up with tracing of the contacts of all COVID-19 cases, and isolation for those infected or exposed.

  2. The moonshot goal of achieving widespread (“herd”) immunity (80-90%) to COVID-19 through demonstrated antibodies and/or vaccination. This is a prerequisite to full economic and societal opening. True economic reopening requires widespread immunity, either through previous COVID-19 illness or through widespread vaccination.

  3. Post-pandemic massive investment to modernize Oregon’s healthcare system, schools, and infrastructure through the sale of Oregon COVID Bonds.

 

Any full scale ‘re-opening’ in the near future would risk Oregonians’ lives. Rather, restrictions must be lifted methodically and incrementally. The state needs to start planning for a massive vaccine campaign as soon as the vaccine is available. Oregon should be the first state with demonstrated ‘herd immunity’ so that Oregonians can resume safe interactions with friends, family, and neighbors. 

 

HB1: The Oregon Pandemic Recovery Act of 2021-2022 Outline

 

Intra-Pandemic: Stay Home, Save Lives

  • Goals

    • Primary Goal: Save as many lives as possible

    • Secondary Goal

      • Educate and feed children

      • Protect the vulnerable from economic damage

  • Strategic Initiatives

    • Test/trace/isolate - build a public health workforce 

    • Tech for schools - provide robust learning for every Oregon student

    • Table - feed the hungry, allocate unemployment benefits, provide rent relief and continue to ban evictions

 

Transition: reopening (gradual and partial)

  • Goals

    • Primary Goal: Save as many lives as possible

    • Secondary Goal:

      • Safe return to economic life (incremental, methodical)

      • Safe return to school 

  • Strategic Initiatives

    • Universal testing/tracing/isolation - database

    • Statewide Alert system for Oregonians for disease hot spots

    • Build a vaccine fund - and a system to vaccinate all Oregonians

 

Post-Pandemic (herd immunity; post-vaccine) - a stronger, more equitable Oregon

  • Goals

    • Economic recovery 

    • Prepare Oregon for its greatest decade of economic growth

    • Improved lives for all Oregonians

  • Strategic Initiatives

    • Oregon COVID Bonds - to raise and invest $4B/year for 5 years

      • Basics

        • Modernize public health and healthcare systems

        • 21st-century schools from PreK-post secondary

        • Build Infrastructure - bridges, public transport, bike lanes

        • Build Housing - affordable & supportive housing

      • Boosts: Climate action

        • Give preference and priority for projects that reduce carbon, increase climate resiliency, and increase economic opportunity equitably. 

 

The proposed funding would be through COVID-19 Bonds. This approach would allow Oregonians, as well as others around the country and the world, to invest in Oregon. This will allow the state to build a healthcare system that improves the health of every Oregonian, to complete long-neglected infrastructure projects and to modernize our schools. 

 

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