Coronavirus: Positive cases recorded at Wilder food plant, Art in the Park canceled
Starting Thursday, Eagle Island State Park will close its waterslide for the remainder of 2020 due to coronavirus concerns.
“For the health and safety of staff and visitors, we’ve decided to close down the waterslide,” said park manager Gary Shelley in a news release. “Between seasonal staff leaving early and the complications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a hard decision, but the right one.”
The rest of the state park will remain open, as members of the public are encouraged to utilize the park and its hundreds of acres of space.
Park staff want to encourage those who visit to adhere to the county-wide mask ordinance and maintain physical distancing.
State clears 12-week backlog of unpaid unemployment claims
The state says it has worked through a backlog of delayed unemployment-compensation claims that left tens of thousands of laid-off or self-employed Idahoans waiting weeks or months for money.
The Idaho Department of Labor says it has cleared 42,000 claims that were bumped to “pending” status in the 12 weeks that followed Gov. Brad Little’s March 13 declaration of emergency over the coronavirus. That’s more than one in four of the 149,227 initial claims Idaho Labor says were filed through June 6.
Some claims were delayed by mistakes that newly jobless Idahoans made in their online applications, others by answers they gave that raised questions about the applicants’ eligibility, and still others by the fact that Idaho Labor was not able to process new, special federal payments for self-employed people until May. Pending claims were held until unemployment-insurance personnel could review them.
Some new claims continue to be bumped into pending status over errors and eligibility issues. New unemployment-compensation claims are rising again as coronavirus cases and deaths rise in Idaho, especially in the Treasure Valley. Fraudulent claims have been rising too, forcing delays in work on legitimate claims, the department says.
Employees at Wilder food processing plant test positive for coronavirus
More than two dozen people connected to a food processing plant in Wilder have tested positive for coronavirus, according to Southwest District Health.
At least 26 people associated with CTI Foods in Wilder have tested positive for coronavirus since May 18. At least one person was hospitalized, said health district spokeswoman Katrina Williams, but they have since been released.
It’s unclear how many of those who tested positive have recovered. Just six employees have returned to work, according to Southwest District Health records. CTI Foods representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Wilder food processing facility is one of five CTI Foods facilities making food products like soups, sauces and dehydrated beans in Idaho, California, Texas and Pennsylvania. It is the latest of several Idaho food processing and meatpacking plants to have a coronavirus outbreak among employees since the pandemic began.
Boise’s Art in the Park canceled, will be moved online
The 66th annual Art in the Park will not take place this September in Boise’s Julia Davis Park, according to a news release from the Boise Art Museum.
Instead, the event will be moved online to an all-virtual marketplace that as of Thursday was still in development.
In a letter to supporters, BAM executive director and CEO Melanie Fales wrote the decision to cancel the event did not come lightly, and the organization talked with artists and other vendors before making a decision.
After looking at all options, Fales wrote that BAM decided it “cannot convene tens of thousands of people for our event,” and cited “insurmountable logistical challenges” as one of the reasons to cancel the event.
The group is continuing to develop the online marketplace and will release further information when it becomes available.
Boise Public Library expands computer access
The Boise Public Library is now accepting appointments to use computers at three of its five libraries, an expansion over when access was available only at the Main Library downtown.
Users can now make 45-minute appointments to use computers at the Main Library, the Hillcrest branch, and the Cole and Ustick branch. Library staff ask people to use the computers for priority needs, including searching for jobs, filing for unemployment and emailing friends and family.
Computers will be cleaned between uses. Masks are required. Printing and scanning services are available.
The Hillcrest branch and Cole and Ustick branch have appointments available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, while the Main Library has appointments from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Reserve an appointment at www.boisepubliclibrary.org/computers or by calling 208-972-8200.
Nine coronavirus deaths reported in Idaho on Wednesday
In the deadliest day yet, health officials around Idaho reported a record high of nine coronavirus deaths on Wednesday.
Over the past eight days, 33 deaths have been reported in the state. As of Thursday, the state’s total death count stands at 136.
Five of the deaths were reported in Ada, the county’s highest death count since the pandemic began. Canyon County reported two deaths. Twin Falls and Blaine counties each reported a single death.
No other details of the deaths, such as the sex or age of the deceased, were released by Idaho health officials.
Idaho surpassed 15,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday, as 476 new cases were reported. There are 15,323 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Idaho as of Thursday morning.
Ada County reported the most new cases Wednesday with 243. Following behind was Canyon County, which added 92, ending an eight-day streak of triple-digit totals.
Around Idaho, new cases were reported in Boise, Bonneville, Gem, Idaho, Payette, and Twin Falls Counties, among others. Double-digit case totals were reported Wednesday in Bannock (12), Kootenai (45) and Owyhee (10).
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, 39 new “probable cases” were added to the state’s numbers on Wednesday, leaving the total at 1,001.
IDHW also reported 33 new cases among health care workers, bringing the state’s total to 980.
Coronavirus cases have been reported in the majority of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 6,066, Adams 14, Bannock 231, Bear Lake 7, Benewah 29, Bingham 136, Blaine 547, Boise 19, Bonner 96, Bonneville 301, Boundary 20, Camas 1, Canyon 3,473, Caribou 22, Cassia 346, Clearwater 7, Custer 7, Elmore 126, Franklin 35, Fremont 23, Gem 100, Gooding 84, Idaho 22, Jefferson 51, Jerome 315, Kootenai 1,139, Latah 52, Lemhi 7, Lincoln 38, Madison 81, Minidoka 300, Nez Perce 105, Oneida 8, Owyhee 153, Payette 236, Power 24, Shoshone 31, Teton 44, Twin Falls 839, Valley 38 and Washington 150.
Community spread has been detected in 36 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clearwater, Custer, Elmore, Fremont, Gem, Gooding, Idaho, Jefferson, Jerome, Kootenai, Latah, Lemhi, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Minidoka, Nez Perce, Oneida, Owyhee, Payette, Power, Teton, Twin Falls, Valley and Washington.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 8:07 AM.
