Total at PSU as of Feb. 22: 43 cases
Two February cases
No new COVID-19 cases have been reported at Portland State between Feb. 22–28, leaving case numbers at two for the month of February, and 43 cases since May 2020.
PSU relies heavily on a self reporting system for people who have tested positive or inconclusive, and have been on campus within two weeks of a positive test. The self reporting form can be found on PSU’s Coronavirus Response website.
Total in Oregon as of Feb. 28: 155,597 cases; 2,208 deaths
Total Vaccinations: 276,119 vaccines in progress, 345,648 fully vaccinated, 621,767 people total
Oregon reached a somber milestone Sunday, with Feb. 28 marking the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case in the state, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The U.S. passed its one-year anniversary on January 21, the first national case coming from Washington in 2020, according to the CDC.
Governor Kate Brown extended Oregon’s state of emergency related to COVID-19 Thursday. The emergency declaration, which is reviewed every 60 days, is the legal foundation for Brown’s COVID-19- related executive orders, and allows those orders to stay in effect, according to AP News.
Brown also released a new vaccine eligibility timeline Friday promising, if supplies are received from the federal government as planned, that all Oregonians will be eligible to receive the vaccine no later than July 1. Frontline workers defined by the CDC—which include workers in the community and four-year colleges—will be eligible for the vaccine no later than May 1.
Total in U.S. as of Feb. 28: 28,355,420 cases; 510,777 deaths
The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill early Saturday, according to AP News, despite Democrats facing internal conflicts over certain provisions in the bill.
The new president’s vision for providing stimulus checks—$1,400 for individuals—and other support to businesses, states and cities battered by COVID-19 passed on a near party-line 219-212 vote. The passing vote sends the measure to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues.
The most contentious provision in the bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 by June 2025, which has Democrats divided and is unlikely to remain in the final bill. Democrats and Republicans currently have a 50-50 split in the senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote narrowing giving Democrats the majority. A small amount of Democrats voting against their party could doom the legislation and the first major initiative of Joe Biden’s presidency.