PENDLETON — As the coronavirus has escalated into a global pandemic that has killed nearly 10,000 Americans and left millions unemployed, Barbara Wright, a Pendleton woman running as a Democrat for Oregon’s House District 58, has been pushing a debunked conspiracy theory online claiming the virus is a man-made “bio weapon” that was intentionally released into the public.

In February, Wright made posts on an online knitting forum, knittingparadise.com, detailing the theory and citing military contacts as her source. In a recent interview with the East Oregonian, Wright confirmed she made the posts and doubled down on her theory.

Wright claims she’s researched and verified the tips provided by her “backchannel sources,” such as a story about a Harvard professor recently arrested for lying to authorities about his connection to a Chinese lab in Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first identified in December 2019.

“Before people think that I’m a crackpot and a kook, they need to do some easy research on the internet and see what I’m seeing and make conclusions for themselves,” she said.

However, “easy research on the internet” shows Wright’s theory already has been debunked.

Charles Lieber, the now former chair of Harvard’s department of chemistry and chemical biology, was arrested in January for lying about his involvement with the Chinese government program to recruit scientific talent. He also was receiving funding from a university in Wuhan.

Wright and others have claimed Lieber’s arrest also is connected to two Chinese students who were arrested in January for allegedly stealing U.S. research and biological samples. But both of those arrests took place at different universities. Nothing links those arrests to the coronavirus nor is there a link between those arrests and Lieber’s.

Additionally, 27 scientists published a joint statement in February in The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal, denouncing such theories.

“We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin,” the statement says. “Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against the virus.”

In addition to her unfounded theory, Wright said business restrictions and stay home orders need to be lifted in Oregon because the economic impacts are too severe, and claimed the elevated news coverage of the pandemic is an attempt by newspapers and the media to make money.

“If they hadn’t made such a big deal about it in the newspaper, I don’t think anyone would have gotten as concerned about it as they are now,” she said. “But hey, you’ve got to sell papers and keep your numbers up.”

Wright’s claims again ignore reality, considering publications across the country, including the East Oregonian, have announced layoffs and cutbacks due to a decrease in revenue during the pandemic.

Wright said she’s “mixed” on whether the coronavirus does pose a public health risk or not, but said she’s refused to change her lifestyle because of the virus.

“I was never totally convinced that we needed to stay home and do nothing, and I’m still not convinced that staying home and doing nothing is the right thing to do,” she said. “I happen to be one of these people that believe if you’re going to get it then you’re going to get it. I may be a fool. I don’t know.”

All three legislative districts in Northeast Oregon — House District 57, House District 58 and Senate District 29 — are unusually competitive this year, with candidates in every Republican and Democratic primary.

All the remaining candidates shared their thoughts on how they’ve been dealing with COVID-19 both as residents and politicians.

Senate District 29

The incumbent in the race for the Oregon Senate’s 29th District, Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, has a unique perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hansell was hospitalized on March 29 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington, after experiencing pain in his left lung while breathing and a slight fever. Though doctors eventually identified blood clots in his lungs as the source, he first had to go through the hospital’s COVID-19 protocols.

“What it did for me was see the protocols that were in place and gave me a sense of security that our medical professionals have responded appropriately,” he said of his experience in the hospital last week.

After seeing directly how a hospital was responding to the pandemic and state projections now indicating Oregon’s hospitals have enough beds for a surge of cases, Hansell said he’d like to see hospitals be able to accept elective and nonemergency surgery patients once again.

While lifting these restrictions would allow more people to receive medical care again, Hansell was also concerned about the financial impact the current restrictions are having.

“Like any other business they’ve got to have the income to pay the bills,” he said.

Hansell was released from the hospital on April 1 and said he is recovering at home.

Garison Lee Alger, a Pendleton carpenter who is challenging Hansell in the Republican primary, has been checking up on relatives to make sure they get what they need during the stay home order.

Alger said it’s important for the government to take action now to prevent more drastic measures in the future, and the state’s current order tasks residents with slowing the spread.

“It’s on us, to a certain extent, to make sure we’re not passing it to one another,” he said. “I think that it’s a good idea to make sure that large gatherings aren’t taking place and it’s not becoming a widespread thing. I think maybe a little bit of extra panic has set in, but it’s to be expected when something out of the ordinary happens.”

Alger said he still needs to talk to constituents about Eastern Oregon’s specific needs, but he’d like to see a relief package target small business owners and farmers.

Mildred O’Callaghan is the lone Democrat running for Senate District 29. Campaigning has been a bit tough with social distancing in place.

“Well, we haven’t been able to hold anything,” she said. “We’re trying to do virtual meetings.”

O’Callaghan said her campaign also is relying on the tradition of letters to the editor and as a former precinct person, she is making use of voter lists to call Democrats.

O’Callaghan described Gov. Kate Brown’s response to the pandemic as “spot-on.”

“I think she’s been ahead of the game,” O’Callaghan said.

If the Legislature convenes for a special session, she said unemployment funding should be a top priority. Wallowa County relies on tourism spending, but the “stay home, save lives” campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus means those tourists will be staying home, and local businesses are looking at taking a serious financial hit.

House District 58

Wright will have to advance past an opponent in the Democratic primary and win a general election to share her views in the Legislature.

Not much has changed in the day-to-day life of Bobby Levy since the arrival of COVID-19.

The Republican candidate for District 58 has started avoiding the crowds at grocery stores, but it’s easy for Levy to stay socially distant when her days are spent delivering lambs on her family farm near Echo.

“I think everyone should take it serious,” she said. “My personal opinion is I believe that everyone in Eastern Oregon is taking it serious.”

Levy said she would like to see the Legislature meet sooner rather than later to approve an economic relief package for Oregonians. She wanted the package to include delays on the corporate activities tax and an increase to the gas tax for at least a year.

“We have people who are basically running their businesses on a shoestring, and then they have to be hit with the CAT tax,” she said. “And they have to pay it whether they’re doing well or not.”

A second Republican in the race, Mike Nelson of Elgin, dropped out.

The other Democrat in the District 58 race, Portland State University student Nolan Bylenga, made an early return home to Pendleton once the university moved all its classes online.

Bylenga said he disagrees with people who say residents should continue going about their daily lives despite the stay home order.

“When all the legislators, both Republicans and Democrats, the president, as well as our Democratic governor, are taking steps to protect people’s lives, we shouldn’t oppose that,” he said.

Bylenga said he’s been thinking about the government’s economic relief lately, especially since the federal stimulus package’s direct payments to residents excludes dependents and college students like him.

He would like the state to look at relief for those caught in the loophole as well as for small businesses, noting that Barreto Manufacturing, the company owned by outgoing state Rep. Greg Barreto, recently laid off two-thirds of its workforce.

House District 57

The incumbent in the race for the Oregon House’s 57th District, Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, commended the governor on her handling of the COVID-19 outbreak in the state and said while the pair don’t always agree, his support was behind her at this point in time.

“As of right now I have no criticism of the governor — I would throw her accolades for the heavy lifting that she is doing and we need to sustain her at this point in time as she’s making those decisions,” said Smith. “I can share with you why I don’t always agree with her on certain policy issues, but she has Oregon’s best interest in mind and she would never make decisions to knowingly hurt the state of Oregon.”

Smith stressed the importance of social distancing and, when possible, supporting local businesses so that the framework for Oregon’s economy continues to exist when things get moving again. Smith said that he has been reaching out to local businesses and talking to neighbors and friends about how they are being impacted by the virus.

“I think, right now, people understand that this is a pandemic, we need to take it serious. No one person caused this, and we’re all in this together,” he said.

Smith said one of the primary goals of the special session will be determining exactly how money flows into the state as well as complying with any strings or regulations on how money is used. Smith cited his experience in past recessions and special sessions saying that the key is to be as informed as possible in order to react as appropriately as possible.

“Right now, there is a tremendous amount of information on the virus floating around and some of it is accurate and some of it is inaccurate,” he said. “What we need to be doing as a Legislature is making sure that the right messages are being sent out and we are taking the right actions.”

Roland Ruhe, a contender from Irrigon for the Oregon House District 57 seat, said he agrees with the decisions the governor has made, but acknowledged that they cause hardship for many people, including himself and his family. Ruhe, a Democrat, said he has seen a drop in his construction business, as well as that of his wife, who works as a beautician.

“I agree with the efforts and the steps that are being made,” he said. “It’s such a fine line that is being walked here that there is never going to be a perfect solution that is going to be equal amongst everybody.”

Despite his agreement with the steps being taken to counteract the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ruhe said he is worried about the impacts of closures and shutdowns on the economy both now and in the future, something he hopes that a special session will help resolve.

“It doesn’t matter if we become healthy as a society if we are crippled as a system” he said. “I am concerned with our economic stability in the short run, let alone the long run, and I would hope that would be a high concern for our officials at that special session.”

Ruhe said he doesn’t necessarily see a better solution to what has been done, but hopes people are able to take the issue seriously and react accordingly so recovery can begin sooner rather than later.

“I think people need to take this serious and do their part,” he said, “the only thing that you can control is your response.”

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East Oregonian reporter Ben Lonergan and La Grande Observer editor Phil Wright contributed to this report.