Credit: Win McNamee / Getty
Oregon Health Authority prioritizes testing for frontline workers and impacted communities.
Oregon Health Authority prioritizes testing for frontline workers and impacted communities. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Here’s your daily roundup of all the local and national news about COVID-19. (Like our coverage? Please consider donating to the Mercury to keep it comin’!)

• WHEREAS the Multnomah County GOP reveals a crippling addiction to using the word “whereas” to chide Gov. Kate Brown for prioritizing the lives of Oregon residents over economic stability—and YES, they really did say that. Our Alex Zielinski has more.

• As of today there are 2,002 positive reported cases of COVID-19 in the state of Oregon, and 78 deaths. Just over 41,000 people have been tested.

• Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen says the weekly capacity for tests is just over 9,000 people, but they’re aiming at increasing that number to 15,000 in the near future. That number, combined with the lack of a vaccine or an accepted-as-effective treatment, means any potential “reopening” dates are still fairly (and socially!) distant.

• The Oregon Health Authority also announced last night that they are re-prioritizing who gets tested first, and it’s going to be frontline workers, those who live or work in group living facilities, and those in underserved and marginalized communities.

• Portland has thousands of empty hotel rooms right now, yet some of our houseless neighbors are still sleeping outside. In this Mercury guest editorial, two OHSU medical students call for opening all hotels to people without housing—now.

IN NATIONAL NEWS:

• Congress has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pass a $500 billion relief package meant to help small businesses, as well as hospitals and to get more testing (which Democrats were pushing for). The Senate is expected to pass it later this afternoon… you know, unless Trump figures out some way to sabotage it!

• Meanwhile, Trump is using the COVID-19 crisis to advance his racist policies—now he wants a “temporary” total ban on all immigration… despite the fact that such a plan is morally bankrupt and will further ravage the economy.

• Republican governors in three Southern states—Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee—plan to reopen some businesses in their states over the next week, despite each state still having a significant number of COVID-19 cases. They have Donald Trump’s support. Oregon leaders, meanwhile, are being clear that the state won’t be reopening anytime soon.

• Maryland’s governor, Larry Hogan, bought 500,000 COVID-19 tests from South Korea for $9 million. This annoyed our idiot president yesterday, who said Hogan should have just asked Mike Pence for some tests and saved his money, thus presuming everyone else also cares more about money than protecting human life.

• The Wisconsin GOP’s efforts to limit turnout in their recent elections didn’t get them the election results they wanted, but it did get at least seven Milwaukee residents newly infected with COVID-19 as a result of being forced out to the polls in person.

• International COVID-19 updates: Italy has finally seen its first drop in active cases, and Germany is now doing nationwide antibody testing. Must be nice!

• How many O’s are in a correctly spelled “Nooooooooo?” We’ll never know the correct answer, but if you need to hear it used in a sentence: “Oh noooooooooo, the Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals are canceled due to COVID-19!”

• Need a laugh? Get your tickets PRONTO for the live stream edition of the I, Anonymous show THIS FRIDAY April 24! Check out the details and the KILLER lineup of comedians here!

• And finally, NEW CORONAVIRUS TEST: If you see a pink and white shoe, you have COVID-19. If you see a sea-green and grey shoe, you don’t.