COVID on rise again around Boise and Idaho. Will face mask mandates make a comeback?
Boise-area businesses and government agencies are considering reinstatement of indoor masking policies to limit the spread of COVID-19 after the nation’s public health agency last week placed Ada and three other Idaho counties in its high community risk category.
Boise city officials weighed their options Tuesday during a standing meeting to review pandemic guidelines, four days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the state’s most populous county reached the agency’s high-risk threshold. The designation triggers the CDC’s recommendation that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask for all indoor public activities, including visiting the grocery store and hopping on the bus.
By Wednesday, the city made the decision not to amend any of its mask guidelines at this time. City officials, however, will review its policies on a week-to-week basis, Maria Weeg, the city’s interim spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman, and for now is “asking individuals to make the best choices for themselves based on their personal health status.”
“The rapid rise of COVID-19 to ‘high’ community level is surprising and concerning,” Weeg said in an email. “We will continue to monitor local health care capacity and COVID-19 data and will adjust protocols as needed to protect our employees and the community.”
Any revised city guidelines also would likely affect the Boise Airport, because it is a city facility. Boise previously required the public to wear masks in all municipal buildings, but that directive ended in March.
At the airport, mask requirements in the terminal and on flights ended in April, when a federal judge struck down a mandate issued by the CDC. Individual airlines set their own policies, which are subject to federal requirements.
“If the city moves to require masks in city facilities, that guidance would extend to face coverings in the terminal,” Shawna Samuelson, a Boise Airport spokesperson, told the Statesman in an email. “Any masking requirements on aircraft would be determined by the airlines.”
Boise-area businesses mull changes
Like many other businesses, grocery stores, which see considerable public foot traffic each day, face challenges from evolving rules and guidance based on local coronavirus caseloads.
Albertsons, for example, requests that customers wear masks inside its stores in the counties where COVID-19 rates have reached increased levels, according to a company spokesperson. In addition, mask requirements will be restored for all employees and vendors, regardless of vaccination status, Albertsons’ Kathy Holland told the Statesman.
A spokesperson for Fred Meyer, another grocer with stores throughout the state, was noncommittal about the company’s mask policies in the four Idaho counties now at higher community risk, per the CDC. A spokesperson for WinCo supermarket based in Boise did not return Statesman requests for comment over two days.
Concert venues, among a slew of entertainment operators, also are tasked with the possibility of adjusting their requirements to get in the door.
The Knitting Factory Concert House (416 S. 9th St. in Boise) honors the requests of artists and tours. The 1,000-person capacity venue plans to continue that policy, Mandi Zillner, Knitting Factory’s marketing director, told the Idaho Statesman via email. Currently, there are no upcoming shows with COVID-19 protocols.
The Revolution Concert House and Event Center (4983 N. Glenwood St. in Garden City) also honors performers’ requests, owner Creston Thornton said. Like the Knitting Factory, it presently has no shows on the calendar with COVID-19 requirements.
The only change made in response to Ada County’s high community risk level from the CDC? “We’re reinstating heat checks right now at the door,” Thornton said by phone.
The temperature checks are for informational purposes. The Revolution Center doesn’t plan to turn away concertgoers if they have a fever. “We’re just letting people know,” he said.
“Our suggestion is if you’re sick or feel sick, you should stay home. If they’re running a fever, we’re going to go and ask them to relax, and we’ll try again in 10 minutes.”
The 2,200-person capacity venue has stepped up cleanliness since the pandemic began, Thornton said.
“We have continually sprayed down and cleansed everything before doors (open). We will continue to do that,” he said.
In-person prison visits temporarily halted
With the heightened rate of COVID-19 transmission, the Idaho Department of Correction announced, effective Thursday, that it has suspended all in-person visits at each of its seven facilities located in Ada County as a precaution. The department will review conditions continuously and will resume inmate visits “as soon as it is safe to do so,” according to Jeff Ray, the department’s spokesperson.
The state prison system initially announced Tuesday evening via Twitter that it was suspending in-person visits only at its women’s prison near Kuna after four inmates tested positive for COVID-19, Ray said. The corrections facility provides transitional treatment for females and currently houses about 300 inmates.
An emergency order from February remains in effect in the state court system, which provides presiding judges some discretion over each courtroom’s rules, spokesperson Nate Poppino said.
Ada County has not issued any new mask requirements, spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan said. One of the county board’s three commissioners did request that the public hearing room on the first floor be adjusted so that attendees be positioned 6 feet apart from one another during property assessment appeals scheduled for next week, she said.
Valley Regional Transit, the bus service that serves Ada and Canyon counties, will continue to recommend commuters wear a mask, but will not make it a requirement, as was the case until April when a federal judged ended the CDC mandate. Canyon County remains at the CDC’s medium-risk threshold, and the public transportation agency still offers free masks aboard buses and at its facilities.
“We encourage everyone to wear a face mask while using our services, but until the Federal Transit Administration issues a mandate that masks must be worn, it is optional,” Mark Carnopis, Valley Regional Transit’s spokesperson, told the Statesman in an email.
Risks outside Treasure Valley
Elmore, Valley and Lewis counties are the other three in the Idaho besides Ada County that meet the CDC’s qualifications as high-risk communities. The designation leaves businesses and local governments in each location to make decisions about updating their own mask recommendations or requirements.
Elmore and Valley counties, along with Ada and Boise counties, are part of the region overseen by Central District Health. The agency’s seven-member board, which issues guidance on public health mandates, voted last month during a regular meeting to remove from its website all mask recommendations, as well as in materials distributed to other agencies, such as school districts.
“We encourage the use of at-home testing to screen yourself before you participate in community activities and gatherings,” Heidi Hopkins, Central District Health’s communicable disease control program manager, said in a statement to the Statesman. “We would also remind people that the COVID-19 vaccine is now available for anyone 6 months and older, and community members are encouraged to seek testing and early treatment if they present with COVID symptoms.”
Meanwhile, the Idaho North Central District, which supervises public health guidance for Lewis County, continues to monitor and pass along CDC recommendations to its member counties, a health district spokesperson told the Statesman. However, Lewis County’s small population size — fewer than 4,000 residents — means even small increases in cases of COVID-19 can create much greater changes by percentage, she said.
“Although the change in this CDC rating for Lewis County is concerning, it may be prudent to watch this and see what happens over the next week, prior to suggesting a significant change in behaviors,” Tara Macke, the Idaho North Central District spokesperson, said in an email. “This is a good reminder to all of us that COVID-19 continues to be active in our communities, and we should all take the necessary steps to protect ourselves and our families to avoid becoming infected.”
Still, public and private enterprises in each county — including Idaho’s larger population centers — are left to interpret and address rising cases of COVID-19. Idaho’s test positivity rate has risen for nine weeks running, to 11.7% the first full week of June, according to prior Statesman reporting. Public health officials target an infection rate of under 5%.
What’s next for schools this fall?
At the Boise School District, masks will continue to be optional for students, staff and visitors, district spokesperson Dan Hollar told the Statesman. The district updated its health and safety plan in February.
“We will continue to monitor the virus in our community and consult with our health care partners, as we have since the beginning of the pandemic,” he said by email.
The district will bring any proposed revisions or recommendations to board members for consideration, Hollar said.
Mask mandates have stirred tension in school districts throughout the pandemic. Many parents argued that masks were important to keep students, teachers and staff members safe. Other parents said they should have a say in the health and safety protocols their kids follow.
The Boise School District was one of the last school districts in Idaho to still require masks in the classroom. The district lifted its requirement in March, months after neighboring districts, such as West Ada and Caldwell, each removed their mandates.
The school year is over for most students, but some teachers and students remain in classrooms for summer school across the Treasure Valley.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 6:53 PM.
