|
The Idaho Department of Labor announced Thursday that 13,341 new claims were filed for unemployment insurance benefits from Idaho workers laid off due to the coronavirus. That was up 12,310 from the previous week, for a 1,200-percent increase in just a matter of days.
For unemployment insurance claimants, the proclamation does the following things:
- Waives the one-week waiting period for all applicants who are otherwise eligible.
- Makes it easier for claimants to be considered as job-attached if they have been laid off due to COVID-19 related reasons. An employer must provide reasonable assurance of a return to work and the claimant must be able and available for suitable work.
- Considers claimants have met the available-for-work criteria if they are isolated and unavailable to work at the request of a medical professional, their employer, or their local health district and they will be returning to their employer.
- Provides parties an additional 14 days to appeal claims decisions beyond the normal 14 days.
For employers:
- Businesses who pay a quarterly unemployment tax will not be charged when employees are laid off due to coronavirus.
- Parties will be given an additional 14 days to appeal claims decisions beyond the normal 14 days.
The unemployment provisions are in effect as of March 8, 2020.
Use this link to access the Department of Labor to file a claim.
|
|
Governor’s State Wide Stay-Home Order issued 3/25/2020, in effect until April 15, 2020.
Order in Spanish.
Here is the list of essential services.
And here is the list of essential services in Spanish.
FAQs, including
If I don’t get a paycheck, I won’t be able to buy groceries or pay rent. Are there services to help me? Yes. You may be eligible for public assistance for food, medical care, rent, and more. Please call 1-877-456-1233 or visit www.livebetteridaho.org to apply.
FAQs in Spanish
On March 26. 2020, Idaho’s Supreme Court issued a statewide Emergency Reduction in Services and Limitation of Access to Court Facilities order, which says, in part,
“During this time of reduced operations, only emergency hearings will be conducted, including in-custody arraignments, in-custody preliminary hearings, civil protection order hearings, emergency guardianship proceedings, child protection proceedings, termination of parental rights hearings, adoptions, juvenile detention hearings, civil mental commitment proceedings, civil proceedings addressed in Idaho Rule of Civil procedure 65, proceedings under Idaho Rules of Family Law procedure 507 and 50g, and eviction actions where the basis for eviction is that the unlawful delivery, production or use of a controlled substance is taking place on the premises. To the extent possible such matters shall be conducted telephonically or through video teleconferencing, using applications which are compatible with recording or transcribing the proceeding for placement in the official court record.”
NCSL resources on COVID-19
Association of State and Territorial Health Official’s COVID-19 webpage.
COVID-19 resources for undocumented people: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18p9OSlLpSYanIoUC-gEbhVbRMYVUfw4wyrixa9ekGdc/htmlview#gid=0
The Centers for Disease Control has a covid-19 website and the World Health Organization has information on their website as well.
John Hopkins has a coronavirus map and international statistics.
The New York Times has a US coronavirus map with case numbers down to the county level: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html
Blaine County is under a mandatory shelter-in-place order. The order is available in Spanish. The Enforcement Plan is available in English and Spanish. More Blaine County information is available on their website. Blaine County COVID-19 Information Hotline – 208-788-5504 - The hotline is being staffed from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm daily and messages can be left after hours.
South Central Public Health District has a hotline available for the public to call to ask questions and obtain reliable information about the Coronavirus Disease COVID-19. The hotline number is (208) 737-1138. For those Spanish-speaking residents with questions, please call (208) 737-5965.
Governor Little’s press releases.
Idaho’s Novel Coronavirus website is regularly updated with information about the numbers of cases and testing.
The Idaho Board of Education has directed a “soft-closure” of all public schools until April 20. During this soft closure schools must provide three essential services:
- Provide food services to underserved populations and childcare for community members who provide critical services.
- Develop and implement plans for delivering remote or distance learning strategies (online, video or teleconference).
- Develop a plan for providing special education-related services
The Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) helps parents and caretakers pay for a part of their child care. Eligible families receive a portion of child care costs paid to the provider.
Idaho STEM Action Network has some at-home STEM activities. Monterey Bay Aquarium and the San Diego Zoo have kid-friendly information about animals.
Apply for unemployment benefits online through the Idaho Department of Labor or by calling (208) 332-8942, but call volumes are high causing long wait times.
St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center has drive-thru testing at 100 Hospital Dr in Ketchum. It is open daily from 10am to 6 pm until further notice. No appointment necessary, but if you are unsure whether you should seek testing, call 208-381-9500 to speak to a nurse. Criteria for testing include shortness of breath, coughing, body aches, a fever of 100 degrees or higher, or potential exposure to the virus. Testing is not available if you do not meet the criteria.
St. Luke’s has a triage phone line to help people determine if they qualify for a covid-19 test. They have multiple drive-thru testing sites around the Idaho.
St. Alphonsus also has a phone line and testing available for those who meet the criteria. Call ahead before going to any facility if you believe you may have covid-19. Call 911 in case of emergency.
Kootenai Health also has a phone line and testing available for those who meet the criteria. Call ahead before going to any facility if you believe you may have covid-19. If you believe you have Coronavirus/COVID-19 based on meeting all of these criteria and need emergency care, please call the Emergency Department prior to arrival at (208) 625-5700. Staff will direct you to our screening tent on the south side of the hospital, near the emergency department.
Idaho Public Television has compiled covid-19 related resources on their website.
Apply for Medicaid (including Medicaid Expansion), food stamps, and other assistance through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Call 211 for help finding community services.
Anyone in need of help or who believes they may be in a violent relationship is encouraged to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON) and Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) have launched this reporting center to allow community members to report incidents of hate they have experienced. Individual information, including personal identification details, will be kept confidential and will only be shared with permission. In the aggregate, the information will be used for assistance, advocacy and education.
Find food banks, food pantries, or school feeding sites.
Changes to USDA rules to increase flexibility in programs that provide food.
Some Senior Centers are providing pick-up food:
Facebook Covid-19 Mutual Aid Groups:
Idaho Mutual Aid Group
Ada County Mutual Aid Group
Palouse Mutual Aid Group
Jesse Tree is a non-profit organization that works to prevent homelessness. The physical Jesse Tree office will be closed to the public until further notice. You can still access programs by calling 208-383-9486 or by emailing office@jessetreeidaho.org. Leave a voicemail and your call will be returned within 1-3 business days. https://www.jessetreeidaho.org/jesse-tree-and-covid19
Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of coronavirus since Jan. 31, 2020, may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met if the disaster had not occurred.
The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Eligibility for Economic Injury Disaster Loans is based on the financial impact of coronavirus.
The interest rate is 3.75-percent for small businesses. The interest rate for private non-profit organizations is 2.75-percent. The SBA offers loans with long-term repayments up to a maximum of 30 years. The deadline to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan is Dec. 21, 2020. For more information, visit https://commerce.idaho.gov/covid-19/.
The Idaho Statesman is providing covid-19 coverage without a paywall and is translating important articles into Spanish.
State tax deadline extended: Idaho citizens and businesses now have until June 15, 2020, to file their state income taxes and make any state income tax payments and apply for the Property Tax Reduction, Property Tax Deferral, and 100% Service-connected Disabled Veteran Benefit programs.
Federal tax deadline extended: The 2019 income tax filing and payment deadlines for all taxpayers who file and pay their Federal income taxes on April 15, 2020, are automatically extended until July 15, 2020. This relief applies to all individual returns, trusts, and corporations. This relief is automatic, taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms or call the IRS to qualify.
|
|
Blood donations needed due to shortage. Make an appointment to donate: https://www.redcrossblood.org/
Donate to the Idaho Food Bank: https://idahofoodbank.org/donate/
Drive to donate personal protective equipment in Boise on March 28. The drive will be held in the east lot of Albertsons stadium on the BSU campus from noon through 4 p.m.
Donate to Interfaith Sanctuary which provides shelter to homeless people in the Boise area.
Donate to Jesse Tree, a non-profit that works to prevent homelessness.
Blaine County's front line workers need Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). SVED is asking the community for donations of surgical or N95 masks, medical grade gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant (spray or wipes) for Blaine County. Area responders are having a difficult time obtaining these much needed supplies to protect our community due to the shortage nationwide. If your business is shut down and you have a supply you would like to donate, contact SVED at David@SunValleyEconomy.org and Harry@SunValleyEconomy.org and we will help coordinate drop-off or pick-up points with the organizations in need. Thanks in advance.
|
|
ABSENTEE BALLOT REQUEST
Request an absentee ballot to vote in the upcoming primary and the November 2020 election at idahovotes.gov.
|
|
|
|
|
|
