Idaho speeds toward a public health disaster without Gov. Little applying the brakes

Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday sent the message loud and clear: We are headed for disaster.

Hospitals are at capacity. Out of 400 ICU beds, only four are left. Some schools have been forced to go back to remote learning — or no learning at all — because of outbreaks. Elective surgeries are being postponed indefinitely.

“We are dangerously close to activating statewide crisis standards of care — a historic step that means Idahoans in need of health care could receive a lesser standard of care or may be turned away altogether,” Little said. “In essence, someone would have to decide who can be treated and who cannot. This affects all of us, not just patients with COVID-19.”

So that must mean a return to Stage 3, right? Stage 2? Stage 1? Did anybody even realize we’re still in Stage 4 of the Idaho Rebounds plan?

According to the state’s criteria for maintaining public health, several of Idaho’s most recent posted numbers fail the test:

• The number of reported cases is up and is far more than than 20 cases per day on average.
• The test positivity rate is up, at 12.02%.
• There were only four ICU beds available.
• The number of daily hospital admissions of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients was greater than eight per day on average.
• The total number of patients hospitalized in the ICU with confirmed COVID-19 was greater than 25 per day on average.

“Idaho hospitals are beyond constrained,” Little said. “Our health care system is designed to deal with the everyday realities of life. Our health care system is not designed to withstand the prolonged strain caused by an unrestrained global pandemic. It is simply not sustainable.”

Little said we’re headed for a disaster and we’ve got to do all we can to avert it.

But then, he didn’t do anything to avert it, other than deploy National Guard troops to help hospitals. That won’t stop anyone from getting sick.

Too many people are going about their business without regard to the pandemic — record-breaking concert crowds at the Western Idaho Fair, 30,000 people expected at a Boise State football game next week. And yet, our hospital situation is worse than it’s ever been — even in our darkest days of 2020. More people are dying, too.

We have to realize that this return to normal has been causing our spike in cases.

Not enough people have gotten the vaccine, schools are back without mask requirements, mask enforcement is minimal if not nonexistent.

We recognize that Little, once again, is between a rock and a hard place: a public health crisis and criticism from the far-right fringe of the Republican Party.

Already, some in his party have attacked him for even suggesting that people should get the vaccine.

We get that Little feels he can’t issue a statewide mask mandate, let alone mandate the vaccine.

He took heat — and is still taking heat — for his stay-at-home order more than a year ago.

But we need to take stronger action to avert a complete disaster. Little should move Idaho back to Stage 3, which puts limits on gatherings of 50 people or more. That would at least send the message that we’re in trouble.

Otherwise, we’re headed for a situation no one wants — crisis standards care and many more deaths.

Business as usual just isn’t going to cut it.

This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 3:12 PM.