Coronavirus: Boise balloon festival is a go, Caldwell rodeo is not. Prison cases rise
One of Boise’s most beloved events is slated to return amid the coronavirus.
Organizers of the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic announced on Facebook earlier this week that the event is still on, and it is scheduled to take place Wednesday through Sunday, Sept. 2-6. In June, event organizers announced the pilot and balloon lineup for the fall event.
Also included on the event’s website is a list of COVID-19 precautionary measures published in March, which includes an emphasis on physical distancing, a “no handshake” policy and sanitizing high-traffic areas during events.
The event is in its 30th year.
Caldwell Night Rodeo canceled
The Caldwell Night Rodeo will not take place this year.
Rodeo organizers announced on Facebook that the event — which has been taking place for over 95 years — will not go forward as planned this August.
“This decision has been one of the most challenging ever faced by CNR,” organizers wrote. “Every possible avenue to safely and responsibly hold our rodeo was explored.”
“For 2020, we will miss the camaraderie, the competition, and the congregation of community that is Caldwell Night Rodeo. Most of all, we will miss the Rowdies and the Civies and the electric atmosphere our fans create when they stand each night for our national anthem, and when they cheer on the cowboys and cowgirls in the arena,” organizers wrote.
More Idaho prison inmates, staff test positive
Coronavirus cases are still rising among Idaho prison inmates and staffers.
In an update posted online Wednesday, Idaho Department of Corrections Deputy Director Bree Derrick wrote that a new COVID-19 case was found in a person with no symptoms at the South Idaho Correctional Institution — a prison that houses men and women in Kuna.
The inmate was recently released from the prison when the test result came back positive, Derrick wrote. As of Wednesday, the person was in quarantine. As part of its pre-release process, IDOC has been testing everyone scheduled to be released from its prisons.
With the new positive, IDOC will begin to respond to SICI as it has with the cases found at the Idaho State Correctional Center, Derrick wrote.
Mass testing continues to take place where previous cases have been found. On Wednesday, officials tested all those living in the C Block of ISCC, according to Derrick. On Thursday, those in the B Block will be tested.
According to IDOC’s updated coronavirus numbers on its website, six more cases without symptoms were reported Wednesday, bringing the total among the prison population to 119. The number of those positive and showing symptoms remains at 18.
As of Wednesday evening, there were 451 pending coronavirus tests. Nearly 1,200 test have been conducted, and 602 tests came back negative.
More cases were also reported among staff on Wednesday. Three additional IDOC staffers tested positive for COVID-19, including one Parole Commission staffer. The total among staffers is now 51.
Four deaths reported
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced four new fatalities related to the coronavirus in Idaho on Wednesday.
All four were reported within Southwest District Health’s boundaries, including three in Canyon County and one in Washington County. The counties’ death totals now sit at nine and two, respectively.
Two of those who died were in their 60s, one in the 50s and one in the 70s, according to IDHW demographic data. Three were women and one was a man. Three were listed as non-Hispanic and one was Hispanic.
The fatalities brought Idaho’s coronavirus death total to 98 as of Wednesday evening.
Idaho was two cases short of tying a single-day record on Wednesday for new coronavirus cases. Health officials around the state reported 403 new cases. Of those, 164 were in Ada County and 73 in Canyon. This was the sixth straight day of Ada reporting 100 or more cases. The county now has 3,245 confirmed coronavirus cases.
Elsewhere in Idaho, double-digit cases were reported in Cassia, Minidoka and Twin Falls. Kootenai continues to see large numbers of cases roll in, with 48 on Wednesday.
Idaho now has 8,361 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. State health officials added seven “probable cases,” boosting the total to 662.
Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in most of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 3,245, Adams 11, Bannock 128, Bear Lake 2, Benewah 15, Bingham 79, Blaine 532, Boise 7, Bonner 44, Bonneville 128, Boundary 1, Camas 1, Canyon 1,470, Caribou 19, Cassia 259, Clearwater 4, Custer 5, Elmore 78, Franklin 29, Fremont 7, Gem 37, Gooding 61, Idaho 11, Jefferson 15, Jerome 235, Kootenai 514, Latah 27, Lemhi 2, Lincoln 34, Madison 34, Minidoka 211, Nez Perce 93, Oneida 5, Owyhee 54, Payette 128, Power 18, Shoshone 6, Teton 20, Twin Falls 654, Valley 23 and Washington 115.
Community spread has been found in 34 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Owyhee, Oneida, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
