Idaho adds four coronavirus patients in one day — and more interruptions to daily life
Idaho reported four newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday.
The reports came in rapid succession from around the state — Blaine, Ada and Teton counties, plus one from an unidentified location — just one day after Gov. Brad Little announced Idaho’s first confirmed COVID-19 patient.
Throughout the day, a wave of closures stemming from coronavirus concerns grew to include Blaine County and Coeur d’Alene schools, the College of Idaho (for two days to set up online learning) and several Nampa facilities. The Idaho Steelheads hockey team announced the cancellation of the remainder of its season.
Late Saturday evening, the Boise School District released a statement indicating that Little’s office will hold a conference call Sunday with education leaders around the state. The Southern Idaho Conference school districts, which include Boise, West Ada, Kuna, Nampa and Caldwell among others, met via conference call Saturday, according to the release.
High school sports continued in the Treasure Valley on Saturday.
“The governor’s office has requested that we wait until after this conference call to make any decisions related to school closure,” the Boise Schools statement reads. “As we have said in our prior memos, our neighborhood schools are centers for our community and provide meals and other critical services for our students. Students receive the best educational experience when in school. As long as our schools remain safe for students, staff and our community, we will remain open. If school closures are required, we will do our best to provide parents and staff with as much notice as possible.”
The state’s second confirmed coronavirus case was reported in Blaine County, which includes Hailey and Ketchum. The patient is a woman in her 50s, according to public health officials. They do not know how she contracted the virus.
The third case was in Ada County, home to the first patient. The Central District Health department said the latest case of COVID-19 in the Treasure Valley is in a male patient in his 50s, with no identified underlying medical issues.
“He is recovering well in his home under isolation and was not hospitalized,” the department said in the news release. “The patient indicated travel-related acquisition and is presumed to have had the same shared risk exposure to the first case identified in Ada County.”
In the first case — a woman in her 50s in Ada County — state officials said there was low risk that the virus had been spread by the patient. She was believed to have caught the virus through contact at a conference in New York City.
Public health officials in East Idaho said late Saturday that a fourth case was confirmed — a woman under age 60 in Teton County, who “had close contact with a confirmed case in a neighboring state.” The state wasn’t identified. Teton County is near the Wyoming border.
The fifth case involves a woman over 70 in South-Central Idaho, reported by the same district as the Blaine County case. She is “hospitalized and recovering,” according to a press release from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. She’s the first Idaho patient reported as hospitalized.
Assistant Editor Chadd Cripe contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 7:11 PM.
