More restrictions? Mandatory masks? ‘I would do anything necessary,’ Boise mayor says
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean says she would consider moving Boise to Stage 2 or even farther back if necessary as COVID-19 spikes in the state’s largest city.
McLean told reporters that Boise must take additional precautions as Idaho’s densest city and an economic core.
“I would do anything necessary to protect Boise,” McLean said Wednesday, June 24. “No matter how hard that is, I would do it.”
That could include independently moving Boise backward in reopening stages or keeping the city in a stage after the rest of the region or state has moved on, she said.
It could mean stricter enforcement of health orders that require social distancing and limited gatherings, instead of the city’s current approach of educating people rather than issuing citations for violators.
It also could include requiring masks. Current guidelines recommend that people “strongly consider” face coverings but stop short of mandating them. McLean said she didn’t want that to become a political wedge between people, but she would require them if that was the right decision.
McLean said she is consulting with public health professionals, heads of hospitals and others as she makes decisions.
Boise has experienced the worst of Ada County’s case spike, in part because of clusters of cases from the downtown Boise social scene.
The mayor issued an order Tuesday, June 23, that moved Boise into Stage 3 for 30 days after the Central District Health Department announced it would move all of Ada County back to Stage 3 of the state’s reopening plan and close bars. Boise’s order also closes “bike bars.” The order lasts for 30 days.
The mayor’s decision, like the health department’s, shrinks the maximum number of people allowed to gather in Boise from 250 to 50 people.
The annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Ann Morrison Park is canceled this year. The fireworks, already purchased, will be saved for next year’s show, McLean said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 4:51 PM.
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