Willamette Valley News, Thursday, 4/23 – Lane County with 48 Covid-19 Cases, State of Oregon with 2059 Cases, 78 Deaths

The latest news stories and stories of interest in the Willamette Valley and around the state of Oregon from the online digital home of the valley, WillametteValleyMagazine.com

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Willamette Valley Weather

Friday
Rain likely before noon, then a chance of showers after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 64. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A 30% chance of overnight rain and some fog, low around 51.

Saturday
Rain before noon, then showers after noon. High near 63. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Sunday
Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 68.

Monday
Rain likely before noon, then a chance of showers after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 63.

Today’s Headlines

Oregon Health Authority reported 57 new cases of COVID-19 as of this morning, bringing the state total to 2,059. There have been 78 deaths in the state.

By the numbers for the state: 41,128 tests (39,126 negative)

The new COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Clackamas (10), Coos (1), Deschutes (2), Jefferson (1), Linn (1), Marion (7), Multnomah (24), Washington (10) and Yamhill (1).

Brown calls for carefully lifting ban for elective medical surgeries

The facilities must comply with new restrictions for COVID-19 safety…

Hospitals, surgical centers, dental and medical centers will be allowed to resume elective procedures on May 1, Gov. Kate Brown announced this morning.

The facilities must comply with new restrictions for COVID-19 safety, she said in a prepared statement. They must have adequate supplies of personal protection equipment and follow the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for their use.

“As anyone waiting for an elective surgery knows, ‘non-urgent’ does not mean ‘minor,’” her statement read. “This is incredibly important medical care that we would not have told providers to delay if the threat of COVID-19 had not made it necessary.”

Hospitals and other medical providers will need to:

  • Minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission to patients and healthcare workers
  • Maintain adequate hospital capacity in the event of a surge in COVID-19 cases
  • Support the health care workforce in safely resuming activities

Thousands of missing $600 checks for laid-off Oregonians

The Oregon Employment Department withheld the $600 bonus check for many workers this week because it had accidentally paid workers an extra check in a prior week.

Oregon unexpectedly withheld $600 federal bonus checks for more than 10,000 laid-off Oregonians this week, the latest stumble in a series of mistakes at the troubled employment department.

The Oregon Employment Department withheld the $600 bonus check for some workers this week because it had accidentally paid workers an extra check in a prior week, according to Gail Krumenauer, the department’s communications director.

“A bunch of people got double-paid that first time, so they got paid $1,200 instead of $600,” Krumenauer said.

To correct that mistake, she said, the department didn’t pay the $600 federal bonus this week.

However, Krumenauer said the department did not issue a broad notification of why laid-off workers did not receive the $600 they expected this week.

It’s not clear just how many jobless Oregonians missed their expected $600 bonus checks this week but Krumenauer said “It’s big. It’s more than 1,000. It’s more than 10,000.”

What a mess from the state of Oregon.  Some workers were paid appropriately in prior weeks and received regular $600 checks this week.

And others who had their checks withheld this week may receive an additional $600 check in the future because the state plans to waive the standard one-week waiting period before laid-off workers receive benefits. Oregon is working to adapt its ancient computer systems to enable the waiver and plans to pay workers benefits for that first week retroactively.

Congress funded the $600 weekly checks for laid-off workers last month as part of the CARES Act coronavirus rescue package. Oregon began distributing the federal money to laid-off workers earlier this month.

“For the past two weeks we have received the extra $600 as an adjustment to our claim, and were all anticipating receiving the same money this morning,” Shelley Bowers, 38, wrote in an email Wednesday.

The missing checks are the latest setback for the Oregon Employment Department, which has been laboring under a deluge of jobless claims and antiquated computer systems throughout the outbreak.

Gov. Kate Brown has stood by the employment department throughout the crisis, asking laid-off Oregonians for “patience.”

Even before the $600 checks went missing this week, the state owed laid-off Oregonians at least $100 million in unpaid benefits.  Stay tuned.

Nationally, more than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began. Oregon’s unemployment numbers will be released later today.

Around the state

A traffic stop led to a large drug bust in Southern Oregon.  A state trooper pulled over a car on I-5 North of Medford for a traffic violation Friday afternoon.  

During a search of the car, the trooper found two hidden compartments in the floor of the car.  Troopers seized seven pounds of cocaine and three grams of heroin.  The driver, 50-year-old Marisol Cervantes of Vancouver, was arrested on drug charges.

Oregon’s tourism industry is already taking a huge hit from COVID-19, and travel forecasts show a decline in visitors through summer.

Last year, visitors spent $12.8 billion in Oregon. 

Oregon’s Tourism Commission, Travel Oregon, doesn’t know yet exactly how hard of a hit the industry will take this year but right now things aren’t looking good. Statewide hotel occupancy is down more than 66 percent and the number of daily passengers at PDX is down more than 95 percent.

In Hood River, the city has restricted lodging to mostly month-long stays and essential workers. She fears it could be that way for a while. Diwan said nearly all of her reservations have been canceled through September. As far as revenue to the state, Oregon collects a lodging tax on hotel stays that accounts for tens of millions of dollars. That money goes right back into Travel Oregon, which then spends the money on promoting and facilitating Oregon tourism.

Oregon Department of Revenue announced an expansion of the types of tax returns for which filing and payment deadlines have been extended due to COVID-19.

The director of the Department of Revenue has issued Director’s Order 2020–02 exercising her legal authority, during the COVID-19 state of emergency, to order further extensions for 2019 tax year filing and payment due dates for certain affected taxpayers. As part of these relief initiatives, the department is also temporarily modifying some of its collection processes for individuals and businesses in Oregon.

For personal income, transit self-employment, estate, partnership, S-Corporation, and corporate excise/income taxpayers and filers: The Oregon return filing due date is automatically extended until July 15, 2020 for any returns due on or after April 1, 2020 and before July 15, 2020.

Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay has furloughed a number of its employees.

The hospital last week set up furloughs for 67 positions across certain departments. Seventy-one employees signed up for furlough, “most of which did so voluntarily,” said Olivia Alley, the hospital’s spokesperson. The furloughed staff still has access to health benefits and seniority, the news release said, and they can be called back with 72-hours notice.

The furloughs are set to last 45 days, according to the release.The hospital has tested more than 65 patients for COVID-19, but none of the results were positive, according to the news release.

Several auto insurance companies have been working with the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation to provide auto insurance premium refunds and credits to Oregonians.

The refunds and credits are due to the reduced risk of auto accidents because of Gov. Kate Brown’s Stay Home, Save Lives executive order. The division encourages all carriers to consider providing refunds that reflect the reduced risk of auto liabilities due to the emergency order. This includes taking steps to reclassify vehicle usage, and properly adjusting any mileage-based policy metrics.

Last week, the division provided guidance to insurance carriers for issuing the refunds to help process the filings and get money to consumers as quickly as possible.

Here is a list of the insurance companies that have committed to provide refunds and credits to Oregon customers.

“Thank you to the insurance companies that have stepped up to provide these refunds to their customers,” said Andrew Stolfi, Oregon insurance commissioner. “Our division is proud to help insurance companies provide this much needed relief to Oregonians.”

In addition to the premium refunds, the division has asked all insurers to provide temporary private passenger auto insurance coverage for drivers delivering food, prescriptions, and other products for their employers.

“The coronavirus has forced many businesses to rely on delivery services as a primary source of income. This has created an urgent need for insured delivery drivers,” said Stolfi. “Providing this coverage helps employers maintain essential income and keeps many of their employees working.”

Consumers who have insurance or financial services questions related to COVID-19 can visit the division’s COVID-19 page.

If you have questions about your auto insurance premium refund or about your insurance coverage, contact your insurance company. If you have issues with an insurance company or agent, contact the division’s advocacy team one of three ways:

With more than 80 inches of snow on Mount Bachelor and temperatures starting to rise, now would be the ideal time for spring skiing on the mountain, it’s the time of year that snow sports enthusiasts crave, with skiers and snowboarders normally beginning to shed their winter jackets and snow pants to start working on their tans as they carve their way down the snowy slopes.  

But just as the coronavirus pandemic closed down schools, put a halt to sports seasons and put heavy restrictions on which businesses can operate during the pandemic, winter recreational sports were put on hold as well. Mt. Bachelor ski area suspended all resort operations on March 14 and has remained closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.   

Last week, the ski area 21 miles west of Bend sent emails to season and multiday pass holders notifying them that they will receive vouchers that can be used for the following season. The amount of the voucher is determined by which of the passes someone purchased.

The vouchers are being offered in addition to Mt. Bachelor’s reimbursement of bookings impacted by COVID-19 such as pre-booked multi-day products, activities, lessons, rentals, Sunchaser Spring Passes and RendezVan RV and camping reservations, once resort suspension began on March 15.


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