Idaho announces first three deaths due to coronavirus — including one in Treasure Valley
Idaho has announced its first three deaths in the coronavirus pandemic.
Two Blaine County residents and one Canyon County resident — all men over the age of 60 — have died in connection with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The deaths were reported in a press release from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on Thursday afternoon.
The announcement came 13 days after Idaho announced its first confirmed coronavirus case.
“This is very sad news, and we send our condolences to the families and friends of each of these individuals,” said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, administrator for Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health, in a press release. “This underscores the importance of Gov. (Brad) Little’s order to stay home — we all have to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.”
The cases involved a man over 60 from Blaine County, a man over 80 from Blaine County and a man over 70 from Canyon County, according to Health and Welfare. The Canyon County man had underlying health issues, the press release said. It’s unclear whether the other two did, the release said.
Idaho made its announcement at least several days after the first death occurred. The Blaine County Coroner’s Office told the Idaho Statesman a coronavirus death occurred Monday.
For a health district to report that someone has died from the coronavirus, a death certificate with the cause of death must be issued by the local coroner’s office, said Brianna Bodily, public information officer for the South Central Public Health District. South Central includes Blaine County.
Bodily added that even if someone has been diagnosed with the virus and is receiving medical treatment in a hospital before death, the coroner’s office must investigate and provide a cause of death before the death certificate can be released. A coroner’s office has 10 days to determine someone’s cause of death.
As of 8 p.m. Thursday, there were 188 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Idaho, as reported by the seven health districts. Blaine County, in the Sun Valley area, leads the state with 82 cases. Canyon County has 22. Ada County, home to Boise, has 54.
Gov. Little issued a 21-day, stay-home order to the state on Wednesday.
More than 1,000 people have died from coronavirus in the U.S., according to The Washington Post. Idaho is the 41st state with a death, according to New York Times research.
More than 82,000 people in the U.S. have contracted the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 1:43 PM.
