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Coronavirus Update 3/29/20 11 am including info on Federal Relief pkg and My Town HalL this evening

  • Writer: Lisa Reynolds, MD
    Lisa Reynolds, MD
  • Mar 29, 2020
  • 5 min read

Coronavirus Update

Sun 3/29/2020 11:00 am

Federal Relief Package

Virtual Town Hall Tonight (3/29/2020, 5:30 pacific, fb live or Zoom.)

Sun 3/29/2020 10:00 am


Lisa Reynolds MD


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


Coronavirus: The numbers

  • WORLDWIDE: 672,000 confirmed cases, 31,000 deaths, 171 countries

  • US: 124,700 confirmed cases, 2000 deaths; The US now has the most cases confirmed in the world.

  • WASHINGTON: 4300 confirmed cases, 189 deaths, 254 hospitalized

  • OREGON: 479 confirmed cases, 13 deaths, 117 hospitalized

  • US Stay at Home orders are in place in 25 states (including OR, WA, CA), plus 74 counties and 14 cities and one territory, covering about 70% of Americans

  • Important dates: First confirmed case in US 1/19/2020 (WA); first US death: 2/29/2020 (WA); first confirmed case in OR: 2/28/2020; first death in OR: 3/14/2020. Gov Brown’s Stay at Home order 3/23/2020.


The US Government passes $2.2 TRILLION economic relief plan.

  • One time payments [$290B]

    • Most adults (incomes up to $75K) will receive $1200, stipend for children garners $500. Here is a calculator to estimate your family’s payment. These payments are expected to arrive within 3 weeks and will be deposited into your bank account. A follow up letter will be sent to you detailing the deposit.

  • Expanded unemployment coverage for jobs impacted by COVID19 [$317B]

    • Now includes self-employed, part-time and gig workers (previously not covered by unemployment insurance).

    • Historically, unemployment benefits (administered by state govt) replace 40-45% of income. The NEW US Govt COVID19 benefits will add $600/week. (This $600 is based on the goal to get $1000/week into workers’ hands, which is the average pay of a worker in the US.)

    • Oregon US Sen Ron Wyden deserves a lot of credit for this expansion. He had been working on fixing the huge holes in unemployment benefits long before COVID19.

    • Length of benefits: This package adds 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to the current period (26 weeks) for a total of 39 weeks. The $600/week addition is through 7/1/2020 (for now).

  • Student Loan Changes

    • Student loans from the federal government: payments automatically suspended until 9/30/2020. Interest will not accrue. This covers 90% of student loans.

    • Not part of this program: student loans from states, banks, Perkins, Sallie Mae. These agencies may provide their own relief.

different retirement account rule

  • Retirement accounts

    • For 2020, no one has to take distribution from individual retirement accounts or workplace retirement savings plans (like 401(k)).

    • You can withdraw up to $100K from your retirement (IRA/workplace) without the usual 10% penalty if you need for COVID19 related losses.

    • You can borrow up to $100K from these accounts for COVID19 related losses.

  • New Charitable contributions deductions (for 2020 and beyond):

    • Up to $300/year in charitable contributions are now tax deductable for those who do not itemize their deductions.

  • Small businesses [$377B]:

    • Banks/credit unions will provide loans to small businesses backed by the Small Business Association (SBA, a federal agency). Small businesses would not have to repay portions spent on paying employees, rent, mortgage or utilities. The US Treasury will pay back the banks/credit unions. The amount borrowed needs to be used for qualifying expenses within 8 weeks.

  • Renters’ Relief

    • There is a nationwide moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent for those mortgages backed by federal agencies and landlords cannot charge fees for late or non payment. (Oregon has a moratorium on on evictions for all landlords.)

  • Other

    • After 15 years of lobbying, menstrual products are now reimbursable via Health Savings Accounts!

    • $500B lending program for distressed companies (including airlines)

    • $100B for hospitals on the frontlines



Oregon updates

  • Gas now self serve? Given that (a) some gas stations cannot keep their workforce up as COVI19 impacts more families and (b) it is difficult to maintain social distancing with the gas station attendee pumping yoru gas, it is now permissible for gas stations to require self-service gas pumping. USE hand sanitizer before and after (if you don’t yet, keep a bottle in your car).

  • Oregon has doubled its staff handling unemployment claims and is shortening processing times. More info here.

  • Portland businesses: Prosper Portland is giving grants and loans to businesses suffering COVID19 losses. Applications available 3/30 and due 4/1/2020.


What you can do right now (it’s worth repeating):

  • Prevent Infection:

    • Prevent yourself from getting sick. One infected person will infect 400 others in a month.

      • Wash your hands.Your hands carry almost all of your germs to the respiratory tract (leading to infection). 20 seconds. Soapy water. Wrists and fingernails. Towel dry. Or Hand Sanitizer (second best).

        • Before you leave your house.

        • When you arrive someplace

        • Before/during/after food preparation and eating

        • Before/after cleaning your home

        • Before/after diaper change

        • After shopping cart, sneezing, blowing nose, pet care, garbage.

      • Try not to touch your face (introduces germs from your hands to mucus membranes of eye/nose/mouth). Wash hands if you do. Use tissue to touch.

      • Clean your home. Here’s a great primer on cleaning high touch surfaces (door knobs, faucet handles, light switches, fridge door, etc).

      • Clean your phone (99.9% bacterial kill, like Clorox wipes)

    • Don’t spread (or receive) germs to/from others (in Oregon we say “don’t accidentally kill someone”). Remember you (& others) can shed virus without showing any symptoms. Viruses are smart. STAY HOME SAVE LIVES

      • “Cohort” with your household and NOT beyond that group.

      • When out for essential needs: Keep 6 feet of distance between you and others

      • Cover your sneeze/cough with kleenex (then toss then wash your hands). Or into your elbow (second best).

    • Continue to get exercise. From NYT: You can invest in home exercise equipment or smart-home exercise systems like Peloton or the Mirror, but that can get expensive. You can find a number of workouts to do at home for free. Beginners can try the Well Six-Minute Workout video series. We’ve got a guide to How to Start Working Out, the 9-Minute Strength Workout and Yoga for Everyone. Taking walks and jogging or running are safe ways to exercise outside, maintain your distance from others and keep you from going stir-crazy at home. Learn more about setting up a space in your home for exercise.


  • Medical Considerations

    • Have 90 day supply of medications on hand

    • Know where nearest hospital is and how to get there

    • Have your health insurance information/cards at the ready


Remember, this is a defining moment in our history. When we look back, we will talk about what we did and how we coped with the COVID19 pandemic of 2020 (if we do the right thing, it won’t be the COVID19 pandemic of 2020-2022). Let’s be kind to each other. Let’s check in with our neighbors. Let’s spend time as a family that we would not otherwise have (in real life or via video chat). But let’s continue using our brain, which functions like a muscle and atrophies without use. We need to keep our kids’ brains stimulated, either through school based virtual learning or through resources we find on our own. More to come on this.


 
 
 

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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).

 

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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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