As most of you already know, as of Saturday, June 20, there have been 84 COVID-19 cases in Washington County. At the time of this writing on Monday, there have been at least 6 more cases. This is an 80% increase in just 10 days. Washington County is in a close race with Jerome County for 2nd place for number of cases per capita in Idaho. I know Weiser is a town that loves competition, but this is not the kind of contest we want to win.
We now have a case(s) where the source cannot be pinpointed or where it might have spread. This is referred to as community spread. Over the weekend, there were two cases that were severe enough to require Life-Flighting from our hospital. From these two cases, the hospital now has a case within its staff. Your City has one employee who tested positive, with two more employees waiting for test results. The Cottages residents who had tested positive had been asymptomatic, but are now showing signs of the illness. Caldwell is also experiencing an outbreak caused by Weiser folk visiting gatherings in that fine city.
For those who think this is no more contagious or severe than the flu, Weiser has local evidence to the contrary. COVID-19 is much more contagious and the mortality rate is exponentially higher than the ordinary flu. This is not a bug that you want to contract. Keep in mind that a third of people hospitalized in our district are under the age of 50 and the majority of those are under the age of 30. This is not just an old people’s disease. Young people are contracting it as well and are ending up in the hospital.
I have received several concerned inquiries regarding the music festival and bikers rodeo happening this coming Saturday. These events will be taking place in the county, just outside of the City Limits and are therefore outside of the City of Weiser’s jurisdiction.
However, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Parade and the Prom scheduled for Saturday, have been either canceled or postponed. The 4th of July Veteran’s parade and the 4th of July Fireman’s Barbecue are in question at this point. The fireworks can take place IF people stay in their cars. The baseball season will continue IF players and spectators will practice physical distancing. Otherwise, the season will be canceled. Events at the Vendome will be restricted to small groups that can be spread out. Face masks will be required in the City Office.
I have been in steady contact with the District Health Office. It appears the Governor will go ahead with plans to completely open the State at the end of this week. However, authority to manage the virus will be turned over to the various District Health Offices in conjunction with local government units. This plan allows for local outbreaks, such as ours, to be dealt with as needed without using a broad brush to involve the entire State. Hopefully, no further restrictions will be needed. But I want you to know that the situation is fluid and adjustments will be made appropriately.
As stated previously, how this situation plays out will depend on the personal responsibility taken by each of us. Nearly all of the cases in town can be traced back to just two people coming from out of state. More importantly, it was the gathering of local residents with these two individuals that caused it to spread at such an intense rate in town. Physical distancing, masks, and other precautions are the way to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19. Stopping the spread literally depends on each of us.
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