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COVID-19

Idaho governor extends stay-home order to April 30, says ‘goal’ is for businesses to open after

Idaho Gov. Brad Little speaks at a March 25 news conference in Boise, Idaho. On Wednesday Little extended Idaho’s stay-home order through April 30. (Darin Oswald / Associated Press)

Idaho Gov. Brad Little extended the state’s stay-home order through April 30 on Wednesday, the day it was set to expire, as Kootenai County confirmed three new cases of COVID-19.

The extension brings the end of Idaho’s order to within a week of the planned May 4 expiration of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order.

Oregon, California and Washington are coordinating how and when to reopen following stay-home orders, but Inslee said Monday that Little was dealing with some controversy among leaders about COVID-19 precautions.

“I have to do what’s right for the safety of the people of the state of Idaho,” Little said about disagreements with other elected officials during a Wednesday news conference. “I am keenly aware there are places in the state where, to their knowledge, they don’t have any spread, but because we don’t have enough testing, we are not fully confident in that. And the other issue is those are the areas with the least amount of health care capacity.”

“We are vastly different than the three states on the West Coast because their concern is predicated on large urban areas,” Little said later, noting he has a call scheduled with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. “I have no problem cooperating with (those states) on data, cooperating on research, cooperating on supplies.”

Little’s amended order stipulates new exceptions “to begin to allow our economy to reopen safely,” including curbside pickup and delivery for businesses previously deemed nonessential.

The order also requires out-of-state travelers to quarantine for 14 days if they were not traveling to perform essential services.

It does not include guidelines for measures at schools, which the state board of education will evaluate during a Thursday meeting. The board decided on April 6 to close schools through the end of the year but left open the possibility for districts and charter schools to reopen under certain conditions.

Many nonessential Idaho businesses should begin planning to reopen after April 30 with new measures, such as social distancing, sanitation and limiting business capacity, Little said. But that excludes some businesses, including bars, restaurants, indoor gyms and salons, that can’t ensure proper social distancing.

“Our goal is for most businesses to open after the end of the month, but with the understanding that it may not be possible if there is an upward trend in severe COVID-19 cases in Idaho,” Little said.

Idaho had just over 1,500 confirmed cases and 41 deaths due to COVID-19 as of Wednesday, according to the state health department.

The Panhandle Health District reported a total of 52 cases Wednesday afternoon, with 48 in Kootenai County and four in Bonner County. Boundary, Benewah and Shoshone counties remained without confirmed cases.

Latah County reported three cases as of Wednesday, while Nez Perce County had 20 cases and 10 deaths, according to the Idaho North Central District. Idaho County reported three cases.

The majority of Idaho’s cases are in Ada and Blaine counties, according to the state health department. Ada had 540 cases and nine deaths as of Tuesday, while Blaine reported 463 cases and five deaths.

The number of daily cases statewide has declined since the end of March, according to state health department data. On April 2, case counts rose by 222, while Wednesday’s 43 new cases was the most in a single day since Friday.

“Science tells us if we don’t time these measures right, then we can worsen the outcome for citizens’ health and the economy weeks and months down the road,” Little said.