The Oregon death count from coronavirus may be significantly higher from what is being reported by the Oregon Health Authority. That’s according to local economist Ken Stokes, who did a study of past death rates for this time of year and found that the number of people who died for any reason is much higher this year.
This means that people may have died of COVID19, but their deaths were attributed to other causes.
The report, put out in the Willamette Week, also noted that deaths from other causes may have increased due to limited medical resources, canceling appointments and surgeries, and distress.
In Oregon, there are 2,385 confirmed cases of COVID19, and 99 confirmed deaths.
Nearly 3.2 million people have the virus worldwide, and over 220,000 have died.
Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang is suing the state of New York for its unprecedented decision to cancel its Democratic presidential primary.
Yang is one of nine Democratic candidates that qualified for the ballot in New York, but who have called off their campaigns. The list also includes Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
According to Yang, who is from New York, canceling the primary infringes on the rights of Democratic voters because it denies them the right to choose the Democratic party’s next candidate for the office of President of the United States.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic candidate, came under fire today by having his spokespeople claim that he was exonerated from an allegation of sexual assault of his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade.
The New York Times had to issue a statement saying that their report did not in any way exonerate the former Vice President of wrongdoing.
In local election news, Portland mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone is suing Mayor Ted Wheeler's reelection campaign for violating contribution limits.
Iannarone and others filed a suit against Wheeler's campaign in Multnomah County Circuit Court for accepting contributions above the $500 limit approved by Portland voters in 2018.
Wheeler's campaign said the timing of the suit is political, and it is without merit.
The City Auditor's Office has not been enforcing the contribution limit approved by voters, because a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled them unconstitutional. The ruling was appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, where it is now waiting for a ruling.
In other COVID19 news, the Republican governors of Texas and Iowa have both ordered workers to return to work or risk losing their unemployment benefits.
This is despite warnings from public health officials in both states that reopening now will have disastrous consequences.
Restaurant owner Kimberly West told the Texas Tribune that she feels like she will either lose her business and everything she worked for, or she’s going to get sick.
Union leaders condemned the decision, which they say will unfairly target the working class.
Ironically, the date of the forced return to work in both states will be this Friday May first, which marks the historic international workers day.
And this from Common Dreams: Immigrant rights advocates on Tuesday condemned President Donald Trump for suggesting that his administration could withhold coronavirus relief funding for certain states containing sanctuary cities.
Twice on Tuesday, the president said that when examining the amount of aid states should get as local and state economies are largely shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, his administration would consider whether each state has sanctuary cities, municipalities where officials refuse to work with federal immigration agents to arrest undocumented immigrants.
The administration, Trump said, would assess if states are financially struggling due to the pandemic and if policies and programs the president doesn't support could be to blame for economic strains.
A reminder to all our listeners that the Governors of Oregon and Washington have issued executive orders for all residents to stay home unless doing essential work or going out to make essential purchases. This helps slow the spread of this virus, and appears to be working in both states – as long as people continue to follow the orders to remain home and stay separated from other people.
- KBOO