Coronavirus: Idaho indoor football team won’t play in 2020; Ada County Jail sees cases
Idaho’s indoor football team will not play the 2020 season.
The American West Football Conference and its member teams — including the Idaho Horsemen — made the decision to cancel the 2020 season due to concerns over COVID-19, according to a news release. Earlier this year, the conference agreed to delay the season, but now acknowledges a season isn’t possible.
“We would like to thank our fans, sponsors, and supporters for their patience throughout this pandemic,” the team said in a news release.
The team said that any season ticket holders will have their tickets moved to the 2021 season. For those who have purchased single-game tickets for the 2020 season, those tickets can be transferred to the 2021 season. For refunds or ticket transfers, go to www.ictickets.com for instructions and information. All 2020 sponsorships will be transferred to the 2021 season.
The Horsemen play their games in the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.
Ada County Jail confirms cases
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Friday that the jail has five confirmed cases of coronavirus among its inmate population.
An inmate complained about a loss of taste and smell on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s blog. The inmate was tested immediately, and the results came back Wednesday as positive for COVID-19.
Jail staff immediately moved the inmate to the Health Services Unit, issued masks to the inmates in that dorm and restricted their movement in the jail, the blog said.
Jail staff tested all 86 inmates in the dorm, and two others who reported symptoms. Those tests came back late Thursday, with a total of four positive tests out of the 88.
All employees who worked in the dorm during the last week have consulted with the ACSO’s medical provider or their private physician on whether they should be tested.
“All jail deputies and employees who work in the jail are required to wear masks during all interactions with inmates,” according to the sheriff’s blog. “Other ACSO staff and visitors are required to wear facial coverings.”
Six jail employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. Four have since recovered and returned to work.
Ada County is among several correctional facilities in the state to see cases of the virus. Payette County and Twin Falls County jails have both confirmed spread in the inmate population and the Idaho Department of Correction has had hundreds of cases in the prisons.
IDOC confirmed its first inmate death due to coronavirus on Wednesday. The man was an inmate at the Idaho State Correctional Center in Kuna and he died after being transported to a Boise hospital.
Brad Little
Idaho Gov. Brad Little gave an update on several programs, touting success to helping Idaho businesses and citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Idaho Rebound Cash Grants for small businesses – Over $75 million was distributed to more than 8,700 small businesses with less than 50 employees in cash payments of up to $10,000.
- Local government authority to support businesses – The state directed $94 million in coronavirus relief money to local governments – money they can choose to direct to support local businesses.
- Return to Work incentives – More than 26,000 employees received $25.7 million in Return to Work bonuses. More than 4,300 employers took advantage of the program to incentivize workers to safely return instead of collecting unemployment benefits.
- PPE for small businesses – Since May, the State of Idaho has distributed 4,233 orders of masks, gloves and sanitizer worth $1,082,150 to Idaho small businesses and non-profit organizations.
- Public safety initiative – The majority of Idaho cities and counties submitted letters of intent to participate in Little’s plan that leverages federal coronavirus relief funds to cover local public safety personnel salaries and gives cities and counties the opportunity to pass on the savings to property taxpayers. Under the plan, Idaho property taxpayers in participating cities or counties could see a 10 to 20-percent one-time reduction in their property taxes this year.
Over 500 new cases reported Thursday in Idaho, 4 new deaths
Across Idaho’s seven health districts, 522 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported Thursday, as well as four deaths.
Three of the deaths were reported in Ada County — bringing its total fatalities to 56 — while another was reported in Twin Falls County, which now has 30 reported deaths. No additional information regarding the deaths was released by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Across Idaho, there have been 180 deaths connected to the coronavirus.
Ada and Canyon counties each reported triple-digit cases Thursday, respectively adding 167 and 127 new cases to each total. Ada now has 7,232 cases, and Canyon has 4,433 total cases as of Thursday evening. Kootenai County also tallied a large number of new cases, adding 83 confirmed cases to its totals on Thursday. The North Idaho county now has 1,487 cases of COVID-19.
A handful of counties across Idaho reported double-digit numbers of new cases on Thursday, including Bingham (10), Bonneville (27), Jefferson (12) and Owyhee (14).
Idaho’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is now 19,091. IDHW also reported 50 new “probable cases” on Thursday, bringing that total to 1,226.
Coronavirus cases have been reported in nearly all of Idaho’s 44 counties: Ada 7,232, Adams 17, Bannock 302, Bear Lake 12, Benewah 40, Bingham 198, Blaine 551, Boise 30, Bonner 135, Bonneville 522, Boundary 34, Camas 1, Canyon 4,433, Caribou 29, Cassia 405, Clark 2, Clearwater 14, Custer 7, Elmore 187, Franklin 39, Fremont 36, Gem 136, Gooding 113, Idaho 26, Jefferson 104, Jerome 357, Kootenai 1,487, Latah 69, Lemhi 10, Lincoln 44, Madison 103, Minidoka 386, Nez Perce 112, Oneida 9, Owyhee 205, Payette 286, Power 41, Shoshone 63, Teton 51, Twin Falls 1,049, Valley 43 and Washington 171.
Community spread has been detected in 37 Idaho counties: Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Benewah, Bingham, Blaine, Boise, Bonner, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, 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 31, 2020 at 8:45 AM.
