Labrador: Decision to reopen Idaho must be based on economy, too — not just COVID-19 models

Idaho Republican Party Chairman Raul Labrador had a message for his party’s members Tuesday night: “Let’s start reopening Idaho.”

Labrador sent the letter via email the day before Idaho Gov. Brad Little is expected to announce whether he will extend the statewide 21-day stay-at-home order. The order expires April 15.

In the letter, Labrador stated the shutdown is taking an economic toll on the state and dire coronavirus predictions did not happen.

“The cure cannot be worse than the disease,” Labrador stated, echoing comments and a Tweet made by President Donald Trump last month.

“Extending Idaho’s stay-at-home order without modifications and keeping our economy closed for an additional period of time will impose real costs on Idaho families that will be felt for years to come,” wrote Labrador, who challenged Little in the 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary. Labrador gave up his Congressional seat to run for governor.

Little implemented the order March 25 to slow the spread of coronavirus in Idaho. At that time, Idaho had 151 confirmed coronavirus cases and no confirmed deaths. As of Tuesday evening, the state reported 1,465 cases and 39 deaths.

Labrador said the decision to reopen Idaho “must be based on a complete analysis of the costs to our society and not just COVID-19 models.”

Little has stated at public speaking events concerning the pandemic, including press conferences, that he is using science to base his decisions on the order.

“I’ve been in daily contact with our state’s public health experts, who’ve been guiding me in my decisions about the state’s response,” Little said the day he instituted the order. “The experts tell us that the timing of decisions are extremely important. Every state is in a different stage. I am confident that the decisions that we have made in Idaho, over the past few weeks and months, have been solidly grounded in the advice of epidemiologists and our infectious disease experts.”

But Labrador said in his letter that those models showed hospitals would be overrun and people would die even if Idahoans followed social distancing guidelines.

“The decision to reopen Idaho must be based on a complete analysis of the costs to our society and not just COVID-19 models,” he wrote.

Those projections have now been revised, he wrote.

Labrador stated multiple studies show that the costs of prolonged periods of economic downturns can “adversely affect not only our citizen’s physical health but also the social, emotional, and economic well-being of all Idahoans.”

“Proper hygiene and common sense public health measures must continue, but it is time that all Idahoans begin to safely rejoin their communities, return to work, restore our children’s lives and regain a sense of normalcy,” he wrote.

During a press briefing Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump said he thinks about 20 states are ready to open before April 30, because they have not been hit as hard by the virus as some other states. Trump said he would not name the states. According to New York Times national coronavirus tracking, about 10 states have fewer than 1,000 cases and about 10 states have between 1,000 and 2,000 cases.

Trump said it is up to state governors to decide when to re-open their states.

“The governors are going to do a good job and if they don’t do a good job, we are going to come down on them very hard. We have no other choice,” he said.

This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 6:46 PM.