Coronavirus: Meridian City Hall to reopen Monday, new deaths reported in Nez Perce Co.
Meridian City Hall will reopen at 9 a.m. Monday, May 4, with adjusted hours as part of the city’s phased reopening process. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to a news release from the city.
Though the building will reopen, public meetings will continue to be conducted on a virtual format to prevent people from grouping together. Hand sanitizer and face coverings will be available to all who enter City Hall, and signage reminding people to maintain social distancing will be displayed.
Before entering the building, city employees will go through a screening process to ensure there is no spread of the coronavirus. Members of the public will be asked to be voluntarily screened as well.
“We understand that Meridian businesses need to open their doors and get back to work,” Meridian Mayor Robert Simison and the City Council said in a statement Thursday. “We appreciate Gov. (Brad) Little laying the framework for reopening, and we encourage businesses to adhere to the governor’s order and implement safe business practices to help provide confidence to both their customers and community.”
The announcement came hours after Little announced Idaho would enter stage one of his multistep plan to reopen the state, dubbed Idaho Rebounds. Stage one allows places like day care facilities and places of worship to reopen.
More deaths reported in Nez Perce County
New coronavirus deaths were reported in North Idaho on Thursday, as officials say two new deaths occurred in Nez Perce County.
As of Thursday, 18 deaths were recorded in Nez Perce, the most of any county in Idaho. The county is followed by Ada (16 deaths) and Twin Falls (11).
At least eight of the 18 deaths in Nez Perce are connected to a care facility in Lewiston. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, 17 residents at Lewstion’s Life Care Center have died. Of those deaths, eight of those people tested positive for the virus.
In total, 63 people in Idaho have died from the coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease.
New coronavirus cases were reported by health officials Thursday, with Ada, Canyon, Twin Falls and other counties reporting newly confirmed cases.
Cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 33 of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 642, Adams 3, Bannock 7, Bingham 4, Blaine 487, Bonner 4, Bonneville 17, Camas 1, Canyon 238, Caribou 1, Cassia 13, Custer 2, Elmore 27, Fremont 2, Gem 11, Gooding 10, Idaho 3, Jefferson 4, Jerome 44, Kootenai 62, Latah 5, Lemhi 1, Lincoln 24, Madison 7, Minidoka 8, Nez Perce 51, Owyhee 8, Payette 14, Power 2, Teton 8, Twin Falls 151, Valley 2 and Washington 1.
Idaho has community spread in 17 counties: Ada, Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Owyhee, Madison, Payette, Teton and Twin Falls.
Staffer at Idaho prison tests positive for coronavirus
A staff member at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Director Josh Tewalt’s update on Wednesday.
The Idaho Department of Correction was notified April 29, and the staff member last worked April 23, according to the update. The staffer is reportedly recovering.
“Once again, we believe there was minimal risk of exposure to other staff and one staff member has been directed to self‐isolate for a period of time to check for symptoms,” Tewalt wrote in the update.
ISCI is a 1,446-bed medium-security men’s prison. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, none of the inmates in that prison, or any other IDOC facility, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Another staff member at the prison tested positive earlier in April. In March, a staff member of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution tested positive for the coronavirus. IMSI is the maximum-security prison in Kuna.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 9:53 AM.
