As neighbor states take action on coronavirus, the time for wait-and-see in Idaho is over
The time for waiting is over for the state of Idaho when it comes to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
At this point, there is no reason to slow-walk our response to the COVID-19 situation. Why would we drag our feet in responding? To wait and see if things get better? That is unlikely. To wait until things get worse? That’s a bad idea.
On Friday alone, we saw new cases being reported at Boise State University, the VA Medical Center and Micron. These updates will only continue to increase over the coming days.
Idaho has fewer than 2,300 general care hospital beds statewide, with fewer than half of them estimated to be empty and available to take new patients on any given day, according to an Associated Press analysis of Centers of Medicare and Medicaid cost reports data.
Officials with the Idaho Hospital Association say their count of hospital beds statewide is roughly 2,800 acute care beds — including 555 intensive care beds, according to the AP. Either number, though, means there may not be enough beds for coronavirus patients if even the most conservative estimates from state epidemiologists are accurate.
One Boise doctor, in a guest opinion to the Idaho Statesman on Friday, estimated that with 700,000 people in the greater Boise metro area, if we have just 10% of the population infected, that’s 70,000 people. Even with estimates of 80% of infected people having mild or moderate illness, about 20%, or 14,000, would require hospitalization, and 5% require ICU-level care. That would translate to 3,500 ICU patients. That would be in addition to all other patients in the hospital for non-coronavirus-related reasons.
Our neighbors are taking much stronger actions.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Thursday added hair cuts, tattoos, massages and manicures to an existing order to close restaurants, bars, theaters and more across the state, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Separately, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a new executive order temporarily suspending elective surgeries and other non-emergency medical procedures.
It’s time for Idaho Gov. Brad Little to issue similar orders in Idaho. Left to make their own decisions, cities are choosing to wait until it may be too late. Caldwell officials said they’re not shutting down bars and restaurants because there are no cases in Canyon County. So they’ll wait until Canyon County gets a case? They now have their chance, as Canyon County announced Friday that it had its first COVID-19. How many cases should they have before they take action? Just one? Or 100? Meridian Mayor Robert Simison said Friday bars and restaurants need to practice social distancing but he let them stay open. Social distancing at a bar or restaurant doesn’t seem very practical.
The state needs to step up and put an end to this before we have a widespread outbreak.
Other governors, notably Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, are taking bold steps to mitigate the situation in their states, with Pritzker issuing a “stay at home” order for residents starting Saturday.
For its part, the city of Boise is stepping up.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean showed tremendous leadership Thursday in taking extraordinary measures in the city in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
McLean ordered the closure of restaurants and bars for 30 days effective Friday, meaning people will have to use pickup, drive-thru or delivery options. The city is closing parking meters in front of downtown restaurants so those spots may be used to pick up food.
This may seem extreme to some, but these are extreme times that call for extreme measures.
What about the rest of the state? What about Nampa, Coeur d’Alene, Pocatello, Twin Falls?
It’s clear Idaho needs a statewide ban, similar to Colorado, before it becomes out of control, not after, not at just the right precise moment.
It needs to happen now.
Idaho can sometimes seem like an isolated state. We are for the most part immune to many natural disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and blizzards. So at times like this, some Idahoans might feel invincible.
A disruption of our normal lives of going out to dinner, having drinks with friends, getting together for playdates, going to the movies might seem like an unnecessary inconvenience. But it’s clear that if we continue to do what we’ve always done, COVID-19 would be an unmitigated disaster and overwhelm our health care system.
Idaho has a relatively low number — for now — of confirmed cases of COVID-19, but that is an artificially low number when considering there are people who fit the criteria and exhibit symptoms who are not able to get tests confirming their status.
As the Idaho Statesman’s Audrey Dutton reported Friday, some Idahoans have to wait 10 days for coronavirus test results. Due to limited supply and tremendous demand, the state is sending tests to out-of-state labs, while we have one lab locally, in Garden City, that could handle up to 400 tests a day. But the company that services that lab’s machine can’t get to upgrading the software and providing reagents for another 30 to 45 days, yet another sign that we have been completely unprepared for this outbreak.
Look at what’s happening in Blaine County, which has now recorded at least 17 positive tests for coronavirus.
The increase from five previously announced positives is at least partially the result of the state’s first “community spread” of the virus, meaning someone contracted the virus without traveling out of state or coming into contact with someone known to be infected.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare was scheduled to issue a mandatory isolation order for residents of Blaine County.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare should issue a mandatory isolation order for residents of Idaho.
What are we waiting for?
This story was originally published March 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.