A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020
Tracing: ‘Decision was not taken lightly’
Continued from Page A1
The Astorian has reported
that a similar dispute played
out in May after an outbreak
at Pacifi c Seafood.
“OHA
and
Clatsop
County Public Health see the
response in a little different
way of how we would handle
it versus how they would,”
Michael McNickle, the coun-
ty’s public health director,
said.
The health authority will
conduct the rest of the inter-
views with workers at Pacifi c
Seafood with the help of an
interpreter. The workers from
Moldova speak Romanian.
McNickle said the health
authority decided to allow
workers identifi ed as contacts
to go between the plant and
the rental housing where they
are living in a cohort, while
limiting their interaction with
other workers and with the
community.
The county said the local
offi ce of the state Depart-
ment of Human Services
will provide any wraparound
services.
“This decision was not
taken lightly, and it is a joint
decision because of the nature
and size of this potential out-
break,” McNickle said.
County
Commissioner
Mark Kujala, who represents
Warrenton on the Board of
Commissioners, was crit-
ical of Pacifi c Seafood’s
approach.
“Clatsop County’s got to
be able to do their job and
they need to do it in a timely
manner because that’s what
contact tracing is all about.
You do it right away and you
can limit the amount of expo-
sure that someone that might
be infected (and) doesn’t
know it has in the commu-
nity. That was our goal from
the very beginning,” he said.
“And I think we had some
real disagreements about
exactly what the quarantine
means. And I think we also
didn’t quite understand how
you could cohort and con-
tinue to work before you have
contact trace or an interview
or complete an investigation.
So those are some, I think,
fundamental issues.
“And I believe the Oregon
Health Authority believes the
same as we did and felt that
we were right in our position.
And then I think that they
kind of backed off of that and
have kind of modifi ed that
position.”
In May, an outbreak at
Pacifi c Seafood in Warrenton
was tied to 15 coronavirus
cases, 11 workers and four
contacts. Another outbreak at
Bornstein Seafoods in Astoria
was linked to 23 local cases,
19 workers and four contacts.
The two outbreaks make
up the bulk of local virus
cases during the pandemic.
An outbreak at Pacifi c
Seafood plants in Newport
reported in June was tied to
180 cases, according to the
Oregon Health Authority,
the second-largest workplace
cluster in the state after the
Oregon State Penitentiary.
“We certainly don’t want
to stop people from working
and we care about our busi-
nesses here in Warrenton,”
Kujala said. “But we sim-
ply wanted to get this con-
tact tracing and investigation
completed and feel confi dent
that everything that we’re get-
ting provided from the com-
pany is verifi ed before going
back as business as usual,
knowing that we’ve had two
outbreaks already.
“And knowing that there’s
a major one in Newport that
had ramifi cations far beyond
the plant itself.”
Disclosure
Pacifi c Seafood publicly
disclosed the new case on Fri-
day after being contacted by
The Astorian.
The seafood processor
said it was notifi ed on June
29 that a new hire tested pos-
itive. According to the com-
pany, the worker was at the
Warrenton plant for one shift
completing orientation.
John King, the general
manager at the plant, said in
a statement that the orienta-
tions are in compliance with
Oregon and federal Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention guidelines and
include “physical distancing,
extra sanitation and full per-
sonal protective equipment,
including face coverings,
plastic face shields, smocks
and gloves.
“We continue to complete
daily health screening and
temperature checks for all
team members.”
‘... WE ALL HAVE
TO REALLY
REALIZE THE
MULTIPLE
LAYERS THAT
HAVE TO
BECOME
ALIGNED
TO REALLY
PROTECT
THE PUBLIC.’
Don Bohn | county manager
The company said work-
ers who are part of the H-2B
program are tested for the
virus after arriving in the
United States.
“Pacifi c Seafood has
invested signifi cant resources
to develop strict programs and
protocols that exceed federal
CDC guidelines for essen-
tial businesses when it comes
to our H-2B visa workers,”
King said. “All incoming
H-2B workers are tested for
COVID immediately upon
arrival in the United States, a
standard that is not required
but we believe is in the best
interests of our team and local
communities.
“The workers were tested
by Signature Health in Port-
land at our expense.”
The Astorian has pressed
the county Public Health
Department to disclose more
information about virus
cases, particularly details that
might help explain who is at
most risk for exposure when
positive cases are announced.
The Public Health Depart-
ment had disclosed on June
30 that a man in his 40s liv-
ing in the northern part of the
county tested positive for the
virus, but did not identify him
as a Pacifi c Seafood worker.
County leaders said Friday
they did not mention Pacifi c
Seafood for medical privacy
reasons, and that it was up to
the company to disclose the
information.
‘Uncharted waters’
County Manager Don
Bohn said on Friday that
addressing potential out-
breaks at food processors is
a partnership between the
county, the Oregon Health
Authority,
the
Oregon
Department of Agriculture
and the businesses.
The
Department
of
Agriculture oversees food
processors.
“This has been unchar-
tered waters since March,”
Bohn said of the county’s
response to the pandemic.
“We have an amazing pub-
lic health staff who is doing
yeoman’s work to respond
to the positive cases, as well
as doing everything that they
can to do public education
and outreach.
“And I think the county
has done a very good job
of managing that. But, you
know, we all have to really
realize the multiple layers
that have to become aligned
to really protect the public.
“And that requires indi-
viduals to do their part. That
requires businesses to do their
part. It requires the availabil-
ity of all of the equipment and
PPE. There’s just so many
different layers to this.
“And so, what all of us
know in this pandemic is that
we need to rely upon each
other to do our part. And
so that’s what we’re work-
ing on right now with the
state to make sure the state
and the county are of a sin-
gle mind about how we’re
going to handle these essen-
tial businesses to make sure
that as they do their work,
that we still can protect the
community.
“And that is still a work in
progress.”
Warrenton Mayor Henry
Balensifer said it is common
practice for seafood process-
ing plants to hire workers
from other states and coun-
tries. He has suggested new
operational guidance for the
plants and potentially limit-
ing outside workers.
“There was a workforce
shortage before COVID and
it doesn’t seem like a lot of
people jumping to go work
for the plants,” he said. “I
trust that they will be tak-
ing all measures of precau-
tion, both at the feds and the
state to ensure they are tested
and allowed to come into the
states and aren’t a health risk.
“And if they don’t, I’ll
have some pointed questions
to ask.”
WANTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
CORONAVIRUS RELIEF
Money for small businesses
given to larger companies
By CHRISTOPHER
RUGABER and JOYCE
M. ROSENBERG
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
government on Monday
identifi ed roughly 650,000
mostly small businesses and
nonprofi ts that received tax-
payer money from a program
that likely helped prevent the
job market meltdown from
growing worse but that also
benefi ted some politically
connected fi rms.
Recipients covered a
broad swath of industries,
with some that were less
directly impacted by the
coronavirus pandemic, such
as manufacturing and con-
struction, receiving a greater
proportion of the loans than
the hard-hit restaurant, bar
and hotel industries. Many
law fi rms and private equity
companies also obtained
loans.
Businesses owned by pol-
iticians also borrowed from
the Treasury Department’s
Payroll Protection Program,
including a minor league
baseball team owned by the
family of the governor of
Ohio. A large franchisee of
Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Pizza
Hut restaurants, whose CEO
is a major donor to President
Donald Trump, received
loans totaling between $15
and $30 million.
The program launched
April 3 and as of June 30
had handed out $521 billion.
The Treasury identifi ed just a
fraction of the total borrow-
ers Monday, naming only
those companies that got
more than $150,000. Those
fi rms made up less than 15%
of the nearly 5 million small
companies and organizations
that received loans.
Economists
generally
credit the program with help-
ing prevent the job market
meltdown from being much
worse. Employers added
THE PROGRAM
LAUNCHED
APRIL 3 AND AS
OF JUNE 30 HAD
HANDED OUT
$521 BILLION.
But the program was only
intended to carry the econ-
omy through a short inter-
ruption from the coronavi-
rus pandemic, which is now
threatening to have a lon-
ger-lasting impact. The Trea-
sury initially required the
loans to be spent within eight
weeks of being received,
though that was later length-
ened to 24 weeks.
Many small businesses
have already run through
their paycheck program
money and still face sharply
smaller demand, as consum-
ers remain wary of returning
to their older habits of shop-
ping, visiting gyms, or eat-
ing out. Texas, Florida, Cal-
ifornia, New York and others
have reversed their reopen-
ings, closing down bars and
delaying the onset of indoor
dining.
“The biggest issue is that
PPP is short-term help,” said
Adam Ozimek, chief econ-
omist at Upwork, a free-
lancing platform. “And now
we’re dealing with a mid to
long-term problem.”
A survey by the National
Federation of Indepen-
dent Business found that as
of mid-June, 14% of small
businesses that borrowed
from the paycheck program
expected they would have to
lay off some workers when
their loan ran out.
The paycheck program
provided loans of up to
$10 million for small busi-
nesses to help them recover
from the government-or-
dered shutdowns and rev-
enue losses caused by the
virus outbreak. The average
loan amount for the entire
program was $107,000, the
Treasury Department said
in a broad summary of the
program.
The loans can be forgiven
if the businesses mostly use
the money to continue pay-
ing their workers. The pro-
gram initially was set to
expire June 30 but was
extended last week to Aug.
8, with $132 billion still
available.
The recipients employed
51 million people before the
pandemic began, Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin
said, or about 85% of all
workers at companies with
fewer than 500 employees.
The government won’t know
how many of these jobs were
actually saved until compa-
nies apply to have the loans
forgiven, a process that is just
beginning.
A senior administration
offi cial said Monday that
some small companies “will
need additional support” in
the coming months.
The public may never
know the identity of more
than 80% of the nearly 5
million benefi ciaries to date
because the administration
has refused to release details
on loans under $150,000.
Thank You!
Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific® (ALCP), decided
it was, unfortunately, necessary to cancel one of our major
fundraising events in May which would have been our 13th annual
Golf Ball Drop event.
There is nothing more important than appreciating the people and
businesses who supported our efforts to put this event together.
We want to take this time to thank all the donors that contributed to
the Golf Ball Drop prior to its cancellation and they are listed below:
Ft. George
14th Street Cafe
High Life
Adventures
Silver Salmon
Fulio’s
Forsythea
Westport Winery
T-Paul’s Urban Cafe
Bruce’s Candy
Kitchen
Maritime Museum
Bridgewater Bistro
Luminari Arts
Nov. 12, 1934 - Mar. 29, 2020
7.5 million jobs in May and
June, a solid increase though
it left the economy with
nearly 15 million fewer jobs
than before the pandemic.
The paycheck program prob-
ably drove some of that gain.
And research by Tomaz
Cajner, an economist at the
Federal Reserve, and seven
colleagues found that com-
panies with fewer than 50
workers before the pandemic
saw their hiring rise 12% in
May, while jobs grew just
5% in larger fi rms, suggest-
ing the paycheck program
helped fuel rehiring.
Gypsy Sally Yoga
River’s Zen
AAA
Escape Lodging
Martin North
Waves Motel CB
Finnware
The Sweet Shop
Englund Marine
Fitness 1440
Josephson’s
Smokehouse
Pacific Power • US Bank • Columbia River Bar Pilots
Astoria Golf & Country Club • Warrenton KIA
TLC/Fibre Federal
July 12, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.
Alston Pub & Grub
25196 Alston Rd
Rainier, OR
Thank you so very much for your continuing support! We cannot do
what we do without your help.
Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific is a non-profit, all
volunteer organization whose philanthropic programs promote
the well-being and self-esteem of children and teens throughout
Clatsop County.
Transforming Lives • Strengthening Community
To learn more or get involved, please visit www.assistanceleague.org