Coronavirus: Updates on restaurants, hair salons, gyms, pay for self-employed workers
Gov. Brad Little will hold a news conference Thursday to announce whether the state has met the proper criteria to progress into the second stage of his plan to reopen Idaho.
On April 30, Little announced Idaho would enter into the first stage of reopening in his Idaho Rebounds plan. Stage 1 allowed retail businesses and all places of worship to open their physical locations starting May 1. Day-care businesses were allowed to reopen as well.
In Stage 2, tentatively scheduled to begin this Saturday, May 16, restaurants would be able to allow patrons to dine in, as long as the restaurants meet criteria on cleaning and disinfecting, have plans to keep people safely spread out, and maintain other health guidelines. Hair salons and gyms would also be able to open under similar rules, although in some cities, such as Boise, reopening rules and timelines might differ from the state’s.
Each subsequent stage is estimated to last two weeks.
The news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be available to watch online and through Idaho Public Broadcasting.
Jobless payments start to flow to self-employed Idahoans
The Idaho Department of Labor has started to make weekly payments to self-employed workers, including contractors and gig-economy workers, who are not normally eligible for unemployment-insurance coverage.
The payments began this week at the minimum benefit of $168 per week under a special unemployment-aid program Congress approved in a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package in March. The payments will be supplemented by $600 per week under a second relief program under which the state started making payments April 24.
In a news release Monday announcing the latest payments, the department did not say how many self-employed workers are receiving them. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email requesting the number.
Some applicants with pending issues may not receive money this week. Tens of thousands of workers have had payments delayed by pending issues that the department has struggled to work through because of insufficient staffing for the deluge of applications the department has received since mid-March.
Some workers will see their payments rise after the department reviews proof of their income, the news release said. The maximum benefit is $448 per week, plus the $600.
Claimants will see the funds in their bank accounts or debit cards about three business days after funds have been issued, the department said. Funds issued last Friday should appear in bank accounts Tuesday.
Data on race, ethnicity released from Central District Health
The Central District Health Department has released a new data dashboard that gives a greater breakdown on reported cases in its area.
CDH — which covers Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties — now offers data on coronavirus patients by race and ethnicity. But the district has hundreds of cases included on the dashboard where race and ethnicity information is missing or unknown.
The CDH dashboard shows that 11.3% of people with coronavirus in the district are Hispanic, which is less than half the statewide rate of 23.4% as of Monday. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare first published its public dashboard of statewide coronavirus statistics last Wednesday.
Idaho’s statewide numbers reflect a national trend, as communities of color have seen higher rates of infection than white communities.
The statistics show that the bulk of reported cases within the district are younger adults. The age range with the most cases is 18 to 29, with 199 cases reported. Despite the high number of infections, the district’s numbers show that only a handful of people in that age range have been hospitalized.
There are more women with the virus than men, according to the district numbers. As for deaths, all reported fatalities in the district have involved people over the age of 60. According to CDH, a total of 21 coronavirus deaths have been reported in the district, with 19 deaths in Ada County and two deaths in Elmore County.
Macy’s reopens at Boise Towne Square with new hours
Macy’s reopened its Boise Towne Square store on Monday with reduced hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Macy’s said the store is offering contact-free curbside pickup. Like some other stores, Macy’s is asking workers to wear face masks, cleaning more often in heavily trafficked areas and on hard surfaces, promoting 6-foot distances between people, installing sanitation stations, and adding Plexiglass barriers at some registers.
Idaho slowly adds cases over weekend
With the exception of Twin Falls County, most of Idaho saw a quiet weekend in terms of new coronavirus cases.
The county added 10 of the state’s 21 newly cases reported over the weekend, according to the South Central Public Health District. Nine other cases were reported within the same health district in Blaine, Jerome and Cassia counties.
Two new cases were reported in Madison County in eastern Idaho. One involved a man in his 30s who was in contact with another coronavirus patient, and the other a man in his 20s who was infected through community spread, according to East Idaho Public Health. Both are recovering at home.
On Monday, Southeastern Idaho Public Health reported a new case in Bannock County, bringing its total cases to nine. The new case is a man in his 30s who is recovering at home, according to a tweet from the health district.
Idaho had 2,052 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Saturday. At least 67 people have died from the virus.
As of Saturday, 33 of Idaho’s 44 counties had confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19 respiratory disease: Ada 687, Adams 3, Bannock 9, Bingham 4, Blaine 493, Bonner 4, Bonneville 17, Camas 1, Canyon 252, Caribou 1, Cassia 15, Custer 2, Elmore 30, Fremont 2, Gem 12, Gooding 14, Idaho 3, Jefferson 4, Jerome 61, Kootenai 63, Latah 5, Lemhi 1, Lincoln 27, Madison 12, Minidoka 8, Nez Perce 69, Owyhee 8, Payette 14, Power 2, Teton 10, Twin Falls 216, Valley 2 and Washington 1.
Community spread has been reported in 13 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Owyhee, Madison, Payette, Teton and Twin Falls.
More Idaho businesses taking advantage of coronavirus loans
Nearly 28,000 Idaho businesses have been approved for federal loans that provide money to retain workers and bring back those laid off because of a drop in sales at stores and restaurants because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Paycheck Protection Program has approved $2.6 billion for 27,678 Idaho businesses, according to a news release from the Small Business Administration, which administers the program.
More businesses have been approved for loans in the program’s second round, but the amount of money they’re receiving is less. In the first round, 13,627 Idaho businesses received an average of $139,429 each. For the second round, the average for the 14,051 businesses approved is $54,373.
If at least 75% of the proceeds are used for payroll expenses and the rest used for certain other business expenses, the loans are forgiven. The businesses get to keep the money, up to 2-1/2 times their monthly payroll costs. Self-employed people such as contractors and gig-economy workers can apply too.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 11:22 AM.
