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Friends and Neighbors,

Just yesterday I joined my peers at the Clackamas County Caucus to hear from our local health, housing, and human service departments and spent my evening with the Tigard-Tualatin School District, listening and learning from board members, students, community advocates, and local elected officials to hear about distance learning and plans for a safe reopening of schools.

At both meetings we thought about what each of us are doing or what we can do to help our community. Here is my list:
* During the upcoming holiday season I will stay home with my husband and meet our family and friends virtually and honor the community members on my mind.
* I will honor the 246,232 Americans who have lost their lives to COVID-19 and their families by continuing to fight for improved access to testing.
* I will honor the frontline health care workers by ensuring they have the PPE they need and access to paid time off if they get sick.
* I will honor our small businesses by purchasing all holiday gifts from them and ordering take out from my local restaurants.
* I will honor our teachers and students by advocating for improved mental health resources. We know the impacts of the pandemic and distance learning will last long after the vaccine arrives.
* I will honor our paramedics by avoiding all social gatherings so there is hospital capacity when they need to bring a community member suffering a heart attack to the ER.
* I will honor families who miss their loved ones living at an assisted living facility and the caregivers who work there by ensuring there is a real plan for vaccine distribution when one becomes available.

The US now has 11,136,253 total cases and 246,232 Americans have died from COVID-19. Oregon now has 58,570 total cases and 778 Oregonians have died from COVID-19. This is a time for people to make sacrifices, protect each other, and care for our communities. Oregon hospitals are nearly full and are depending on all of us to protect one another by staying home, staying distant, wearing masks, and washing your hands. This article ([link removed]) explains the situation in Oregon well. Please be safe this holiday season.

Statewide Two Freeze Begins Today

Due to the alarming uptick in COVID numbers Oregon is beginning a two week statewide freeze today. The new restrictions ([link removed]) are similar to the Stay Home, Save Lives order we were following in the spring, but they reflect what we have learned in the past few months about how this disease spreads.

Closed:
* Gyms and fitness organizations.
* Indoor recreational facilities like museums, pools, and sport courts.
* Outdoor recreational facilities like zoos, gardens, aquariums, outdoor entertainment activities, and outdoor pools.
* Indoor and outdoor event venues.

Limited:
* Social get-togethers must be no more than six people, total, from no more than two households—whether indoors or outdoors.
* Eating and drinking establishments will be limited to take-out and delivery only.
* Retail stores, malls, grocery stores, and pharmacies will be limited to a maximum of 75% capacity and encourage curbside pickup.
* Faith-based organizations will be limited to a maximum of 25 people indoors or 50 people outdoors.
* All businesses should mandate work-from-home to the greatest extent possible and close offices to the public.
* Visits to long-term care facilities will be allowed only outdoors.

You can look at Governor Brown’s executive order here ([link removed]) or, to quickly see what is impacted with this executive order, I’ve included a summary graphic below. You can also find this graphic in multiple languages for sharing here ([link removed]) .

What's affected by the two week freeze starting Wednesday Nov 18


Travel Advisory Issued

In addition to the Two-Week Freeze, Governor Brown joined with California Governor Gavin Newsom and Washington Governor Jay Inslee to jointly issue travel advisories urging people to avoid non-essential, out-of-state travel, requesting people self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country, and encouraging residents to stay local. In this case, “essential travel” is defined as travel for work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.

While we’re at a critical point in our fight against this virus, we shouldn’t lose sight of just how much worse things are in other parts of the country. This data compilation from NPR ([link removed]) highlights this, making it clear that you could very well be entering more dangerous spaces if you travel outside the state or host others traveling to see you.

If you do need to travel for essential reasons, here is what it means to self-quarantine:

Students Preparing To Return Home From College

Before going home:
* Get a flu vaccine as soon as possible. The flu vaccine may take up to two weeks to become effective, so getting it soon will give it time to be more effective when you go home.
* Avoid contact with others, especially people they don’t share living space with at school.
* Stay in their living space as much as possible.
* Get a test if they can but remember that a negative test result is NOT a free pass. Some COVID-19 tests produce a high percentage of false negatives, so even after a negative test, they should continue to follow all COVID-19 safety protocols.
* If they test positive, they should stay where they are and self-isolate ([link removed]) for 10 days. Celebrate virtually with family or see if they can reschedule holiday plans.

Getting home:
* The safest way to travel is by car and only with people they live with.
* Traveling by train or plane exposes everyone to a higher risk of infection. It’s hard to stay physically distant in crowded airports or train stations, and being on a plane or train increases the length of exposure to anyone who might be sick.  
* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have more information on travel on their webpage ([link removed]) .

After arriving at home:
* Your student should stay physically distant from others, even those they are staying with.
* Stay in a separate room from others when they arrive home.
* After returning home, your student should quarantine ([link removed]) for 14 days and limit their exposure to people who don’t live there, especially older adults or high-risk family members.
* Your student should wear a face covering when unable to maintain physical distancing.
* They should not gather socially indoors and avoid going to bars, restaurants and parties.
* After quarantining, choose lower risk activities if they see people who they don’t live with

Please email me (mailto:[email protected]) if you have specific concerns. Our office will do all we can to help and protect all Oregonians.

Covid-19 Resources:
Oregon Information and Resources ([link removed])
Oregon Health Authority Updates ([link removed])
Federal Government Response ([link removed])
Senator Merkley’s Response Page ([link removed])
SEIU Worker Resource Page ([link removed])
Oregon Unemployment ([link removed])

Thank you for reading and stay safe.

Sincerely,
Rachel Prusak

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Rachel for State Representative . 1980 willamette falls drive . Suite #120 - PMB#135 . West Linn, Or 97068 . USA