Sean C. Morgan
Linn County had 103 cases of COVID-19 as of Monday morning, an increase from 97 one week earlier and 78 the week prior, according to information provided by the Oregon Health Authority.
OHA reported one death in Linn County during the previous week, a total of eight linked to COVID-19.
Oregon’s 126th COVID-19 and Linn County’s eighth death was an 81-year-old man, who tested positive on April 19 and died on May 2 at Samaritan Albany General Hospital. He had underlying medical conditions.
The total number of cases includes “presumptive cases,” which are those where a person is showing COVID-19 symptoms and has had close contact with a confirmed case. Those who later test positive based on a test for the virus are categorized as confirmed cases.
The total number of positive COVID-19 tests and presumptive cases statewide increased to 3,286 as of Monday morning, up from 2,759 a week earlier, on May 4 and 2,354 on April 27.
The state’s death toll was 130 as of Monday morning, up from 109 a week earlier and 92 the week prior.
Linn County Commissioner Will Tucker told The New Era that the county submitted its plan to reopen in a letter to the governor Friday. The governor’s office accepted the plan the same day.
Monday, county officials were busy answering questions from the governor’s office, Tucker said. “They’re evaluating, and when we will hear, I don’t know.”
The county’s plan addresses each of seven points Gov. Kate Brown has outlined for counties to begin reopening.
The plan requires a declining prevalence of COVID-19, minimum testing requirements, contact tracing, facilities to isolate those who are infected, statewide guidelines for different business sectors, sufficient healthcare capacity and sufficient personal protection equipment.
“We think we’re ready,” Tucker said.
According to the letter to the governor, as of Friday, county officials don’t believe Linn County has a single resident hospitalized, and the county has sufficient testing and equipment, with 20 trained contact tracers.
The county will have a contract for isolation facilities within the week, the letter said, and the county has sufficient healthcare capacity.
In counties entering the first phase, restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen sit-down service.
In Phase One, restaurants and bars would be allowed to reopen sit-down service. Personal care and service businesses, including barbers and salons, may reopen, and in-person gatherings of up to 25 persons will be allowed.
Counties must remain in Phase One for at least 21 days before advancing to Phase Two. More details on the second and third phases will be announced later.
Counties in Phase One that begin to see significant increases in COVID-19 cases or community spread may need to move back to a stay-home status, the governor said.
During the week of April 26 to May 2, the Oregon Employment Department reported 19,600 initial claims for unemployment benefits. The agency has received more than 381,800 since COVID-19 business closures began in mid-March.
As of May 7, 83 percent of claims for regular unemployment benefits received between March 15 and May 2 had been processed, the Employment Department reported. For each of the past four weeks, more claims were processed than received in Oregon.
The department also has processed more than 10,000 applications for unemployment assistance benefits for self-employed, gig and other workers who do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits.
The department has been expanding its staff and is working seven days per week to process claims.
The Employment Department has detailed information of about 30,300 of the 45,100 initial claims processed during the week of April 26 to May 2. The greatest number of initial claims continued to come from the accommodation and food services sector, with 64,700 initial claims filed in the industry since March 15. Other sectors with the largest initial claims totals since March 15 include health care and social assistance, with 39,700, and retail trade, with 33,100.
Every sector of the economy has seen increased claims activity. Accommodation and food services’ share of total claims is declining, although the industry still accounts for 28 percent of initial claims since mid-March. Shares of total initial claims are increasing in retail trade, manufacturing, administrative and waste services and wholesale trade.
The Department of Human Services and the Oregon Department of Education announced May 5 that Oregon families with children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals will get cash benefits for the meals they would have received at school even if they have been accessing meals from schools during the closure.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service authorized DHS to provide Oregon P-EBT Pandemic School Meal Replacement Benefits to more than 351,000 students receiving free or reduced-price school meals in Oregon, including almost 147,000 students already receiving Nutrition Assistance. Households will receive benefits equivalent to one free lunch and one free breakfast for each eligible child – $5.70 per normal school day for the months of March, April, May and June.
Benefits will be retroactive to March 16, 2020 for students who received free and reduced price meals when schools closed. For newly eligible free or reduced-price meals or SNAP households, benefits will start at the beginning of the month they become eligible. Eligible families will receive $69 for March; $126 in April; $120 in May; and $69 in June.
“Together, DHS and ODE are working to ensure no child in Oregon goes hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dan Haun, DHS Self-Sufficiency Programs Director. “This resource is the result of our strong collaboration and will provide additional support for child nutrition and expand families’ options for healthy food.”