The Public Health – Idaho North Central District Board of Health raised the public health alert level in Latah and Nez Perce counties from green to yellow Thursday, in response to a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, according to the Lewiston Tribune.
Public Health Nurse Mike Larson said during Thursday’s board meeting the district has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the past month.
“Our first case was on March 24,” Larson said. “We hit 1,000 cases on Sept. 23, almost exactly six months later. But our 2,000th case occurred on Oct. 20. So we went from 1,000 to 2,000 cases in less than 30 days. That gives a pretty good idea of what’s going on right now.”
Raising the alert level from green to yellow doesn’t impose any additional mandates on businesses. It primarily serves to let the public know cases are trending in the wrong direction.
“The intent isn’t to scare anyone,” said board member Connie Osborn, a registered nurse and chief quality officer at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow. “The intent is to give them information. ... Going to yellow just gives them a visual sign that the numbers are increasing.”
Whitman County Public Health reported another COVID-19 death Friday, raising the total dead from the virus to 17 in the county, according to a news release from the county health department. All 17 deaths were reported this month.
The most recent reported death was a woman between the ages of 60 and 79.
The health department received seven new positive COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the county total to 1,824. The seven cases include a female younger than 20, two people between 20 and 39, three between 60 and 79 and one woman older than 80.
Five infected people are hospitalized in Whitman County and all others are stable and self-isolating.
Public Health – Idaho North Central District reported 15 new cases Friday in Latah County, increasing the county total to 979 cases — 947 confirmed and 32 probable cases. There has been one death related to the virus in Latah County, which was reported Tuesday.
The 15 new cases include five people ages 18 to 29, one woman in her 30s, four people in their 40s, four people in their 50s and one man in his 70s.
Of the 979 total cases, 638 have recovered.
