Four weeks since his last press conference, Idaho Gov. Little addresses state today
Idaho Gov. Brad Little will update the state on Idaho’s coronavirus response at noon Thursday — his first COVID-19 press conference in a month.
During that time, Idaho has broken its own records for cases and hospitalizations.
The governor could announce a new measure to curb the spread of disease, could announce the state will again advance to Stage 3 of its reopening plan, or could address something else altogether.
While governors in neighboring states held multiple press conferences during the fall surge, Little made himself available to Idaho’s press corps once since Nov. 13, during an appearance at a Saint Alphonsus Health System testing site in Meridian. There was no remote option for Idaho reporters who couldn’t attend in person or who live in other parts of the state.
Up until November, the governor held regular press conferences about every other week.
Emily Callihan, communications director for Little, said in a Dec. 4 email to the Statesman that between the Nov. 13 press conference and Dec. 4, he discussed the pandemic and the state’s response in nine media interviews, four virtual events with business leaders, two virtual events with students and has held meetings with Idaho’s tribes, cities, counties and legislators.
Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert, a fellow Republican governor, holds a press conference every week for about an hour, and “a fair amount of that time (goes to answering) questions from the media,” according to Brooke Scheffler, his public information officer. “As far as interviews go he has participated in probably five or so since Nov 13. With many more lined up in the coming days.”
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, has held twice weekly or weekly press conferences “nearly every single week since March,” according to Erin Loranger, his press secretary. Bullock hosted three press conferences since Nov. 13 and will hold another Thursday, Loranger said. “Those press conferences always allow for extensive time for questions from reporters and are generally the main way he’s communicated with reporters throughout the pandemic. He’s done one additional interview with a reporter since Nov. 13 and has participated in virtual events that are open to the public/press.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, ordered a two-week “freeze” on Nov. 13 to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the state. Since then, she held press conferences on Nov. 25, Dec. 1 and Dec. 4.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, held at least six press conferences since Nov. 13.
As the Statesman reported, Little stressed at his Nov. 13 press conference the need to better communicate with the public about COVID-19, as his administration’s focus on personal responsibility and local control fell short.
“We are going to do all we can to ramp up public information outreach awareness of all the people of Idaho,” Little said then.
Gov. Little has been reluctant to take broad statewide measures such as a mask mandate, deferring to local governments and health districts.
Since the Nov. 13 update from Little:
- Southwest District Health board member Viki Purdy invited two people to speak and share false information about COVID-19.
- Central District Health had to postpone a vote on a public health order due to security concerns from anti-mask protesters at board members’ homes and outside the district’s offices.
- A county commissioner threatened to pull funding from a public health district in North Idaho.
A Statesman reporter attended the Saint Alphonsus appearance and asked about the delay between news conferences. Little pointed out the state’s ONE Idaho ads and some other efforts to do online outreach to help Idahoans understand the seriousness of the situation, the Statesman reported.
“We had a ... respiratory nurse that’s up now on a ONE Idaho ad,” he said, according to the Statesman’s reporting. “We’ve got some people from, I think it’s Eastern Idaho, there was a young, healthy 40-year-old that was very, very sick, and he’s making his case about how important it is” to wear a facial covering and take the proper precautions.
“This is an all hands on deck. It’s our ONE Idaho plan, it’s the health care providers, it’s the hospitals, it’s the carriers,” he said then, according to the Statesman’s reporting. “Everybody’s trying to get the message out.”
Meanwhile, Little has continued to address the public through AARP Idaho’s live virtual “town hall” events with Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen. Those town halls began at the start of the pandemic. Idaho journalists compete with other callers to have their questions answered.
Little’s office has declined at least three requests from Idaho Statesman journalists for a one-on-one interview on the pandemic, including a request this week from the Statesman’s long-time health care reporter.
Idaho in the past month went from a moving average of 76.6 new cases per 100,000 people, to 68.2 new cases per 100,000 people — an improvement in a key metric, but still far above critical levels.
Idaho went from 82 ICU patients with COVID-19 to a high of 113, and total COVID-19 hospitalizations grew from 387 to a high of 496 (based on dates when an equal number of hospitals reported data).
