Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 MONDAY • March 15, 2021 PAC-12 CHAMPIONS IT’S MADNESS! IT Brackets Bracke kets are back » OREGON: No. 7 seed in West » OREGON STATE: No. 12 seed in Midwest What Wh hat if players test positive for COVID-19? There’s a plan for that » Coverage on A5-6 COVID-19 ‘We’re faced with a mystery’ A RIDE IN THE SKY Survivors struggle as scientists race to decipher baffling virus symptoms BY LINDSEY TANNER Associated Press There was no reason to celebrate on Rachel Van Lear’s anniversary. The same day a pandemic was de- clared, she developed symptoms of COVID-19. A year later, she’s still waiting for them to disappear. And for experts to come up with some an- swers. The Texas woman is one of thou- sands of self-described long-haulers, patients with symptoms that linger or develop out of the blue months after they first became infected with coronavirus. Hers first arrived March 11, 2020. The condition affects an uncertain number of survivors in a baffling va- riety of ways. See Survivors / A10 Paul Sancya/AP Karla Jefferies’ persistent COVID-19 symptoms and home confinement in Detroit led to depression. “I’m a year in, and to still from time to time have lin- gering effects, I just don’t understand that,’’ she says. Bend cyclist struck by car, seriously hurt Bulletin staff report Photo by RYAN BRENNECKE • The Bulletin Pilot Greg Miller visits with a group of passengers while conducting a tethered flight in his hot air balloon Tulip Topper during the Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond on Saturday. The Sportsmen’s Show — one of the first major events held in the region during the pandemic — ended Sunday. TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly cooler High 43, Low 25 Page A10 INDEX Comics Dear Abby Horoscope A7-8 A4 A4 Kid Scoop Local/State Nation/World A9 A2-3 A4 Puzzles Sports Weather A8 A5-6 A10 The Bulletin ù An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Monday E-Edition, 10 pages, 1 section DAILY A 59-year-old Bend man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a vehicle while riding his bicy- cle at the intersection of NE Olney Avenue and NE Third Street Satur- day afternoon in Bend. The cyclist, whose identity has not been released, was riding east on Ol- ney Avenue about 4:41 p.m. and was struck by a Ford Focus when he en- tered the intersection at Third Street, Bend Police said in a press release. The Focus, which was being driven by an 84-year-old Bend man, was headed west on Olney Avenue before turning south onto Third Street and colliding with the cyclist. The identity of the Focus driver has not been released. Bystanders attempted life-saving efforts but the cyclist had not re- sponded by the time police arrived and he was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend, police said. Police said the Focus driver was cooperating with investigators and as of Saturday, no citations had been issued. U|xaIICGHy02329lz[