This story will be updated throughout the day
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Here is the latest information from April 5, 2020, in Oregon and Southwest Washington in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic:
Oregon coronavirus cases rise
One person has died from the coronavirus in Oregon, according to the Oregon Health Authority’s Sunday update, bringing the state’s death toll to 27. The victim was a 62-year-old woman in Multnomah County. She died the same day she tested positive for the virus: Thursday, April 2. OHA said it was unknown if she had underlying medical conditions.
Since yesterday, 69 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported. The new cases were found in the following counties: Clackamas (6), Columbia (3), Klamath (1), Lane (3), Linn (2), Marion (10), Multnomah (24), Polk (2), Sherman (1), Umatilla (2), Washington (12), Yamhill (3).
There are a total of 1,068 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Oregon.
Washington cases near 8,000
As of Sunday, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state of Washington reached 7,984.
The state’s death toll was listed at 338 by the Department of Health—the majority of COVID-19 fatalities were located in King County, which accounts for over 200 deaths.
Washington state sends 400+ ventilators to New York and others
Washington state governor Jay Inslee announced Sunday his state would be returning more than 400 ventilators it had received from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The state recently purchased more than 750 ventilators, which are expected to arrive over the next several weeks.
“I spoke with the governor after conferring with the Washington State Hospital Association to determine what help Washington could offer other states,” said Vice Admiral (ret.) Raquel Bono, M.D., Director, Washington State COVID-19 Health System Response Management. “Thanks to the mitigation efforts the governor has put in place and the cooperation of Washingtonians, we have seen fewer infections in our communities than anticipated. Our current status allows us to help others who have a more immediate need.”
The move comes a day after Oregon Governor Kate Brown sent 140 ventilators to New York to help its COVID-19 crisis.
TriMet service changes go into effect
TriMet service schedule has been adjusted to reflect the drop in ridership and to promote safety across the tri-county area.
TriMet bus service changes
- 27 of TriMet’s 85 bus lines, or 32%, will maintain their current weekday service, or close to it.
- 58 of TriMet’s bus lines, or 68%, will see adjustments.
- The adjustments were roughly built off TriMet’s current Saturday service schedules, with modifications for lines that currently don’t have Saturday service or that don’t have early or late enough service on Saturdays to accommodate typical work schedules.
- No line will have more than an hour between buses.
- Bus lines with weekend service will run on Sunday schedules all weekend long.
- Buses on the two 24-hour lines – Line 20-Burnside/Stark and Line 57-TV Hwy/Forest Grove – will temporarily not run overnight.
- Only one bus line – Line 272-PDX Night Bus – will be temporarily suspended. (This bus line runs in the overnight hours when MAX Red Line does not run. With airline travel down dramatically, we will stop running the bus line, but MAX service will continue.)
- Weekly bus service hours will be reduced by about 21%.
Max Light Rail service changes
- All MAX lines will continue to run their full routes.
- MAX trains on all lines will run every 15 minutes throughout the majority of the weekday. That means TriMet will suspend the added train service that normally runs during the morning and afternoon commutes Monday through Friday.
- MAX trains will run on Sunday schedules both Saturdays and Sundays.
- Weekly MAX service hours will be reduced by about 9%.
WES Commuter Rail service changes
- WES train service will continue to run during both the morning and afternoon weekday commutes.
- WES trains will run every 45 minutes, instead of every 30 minutes.
- WES trains will run as single vehicles and not two-car consist.
- Weekly WES service hours will be reduced by about 37%.
LIFT paratransit service changes
- LIFT paratransit service is an on-demand service. While TriMet is not making changes to the service, LIFT serves seniors and those with disabilities or health concerns that make it not possible to use our fixed route buses or trains. As many of those riders are in the high-risk group for COVID-19, ridership has dropped about 80% and those continuing to ride LIFT are doing so only for essential trips or to reach life-sustaining services.
Portland Streetcar service changes
- Portland Streetcar has altered its weekday service to run on weekend schedules, with streetcars running every 20 minutes instead of more often.
The agency said overall ridership dropped nearly 50% from the beginning of February to mid-March.
Cherriots to provide reduced service Tuesday
Salem Area Mass Transit District announced it will provide temporary service beginning Tuesday, but with significantly reduced operations.
Cherriots shut down services on March 30 because of staffing shortages, including seven employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The agency said it is asking people to continue to stay home and stay off the bus unless for the following essential trips:
- Medical appointments
- Picking up prescriptions
- Getting to and from work
- Critical grocery shopping
Cherriots advises riders to plan ahead, allow extra time for their trip, and frequently check for service alerts at Cherriots.org/alerts.