Senseless.
The Public Health – Idaho North Central District Board of Health raised the public health alert level in Latah and Nez Perce counties from green to yellow Thursday, in response to a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, according to the Lewiston Tribune.
Public Health Nurse Mike Larson said during Thursday’s board meeting the district has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the past month.
“Our first case was on March 24,” Larson said. “We hit 1,000 cases on Sept. 23, almost exactly six months later. But our 2,000th case occurred on Oct. 20. So we went from 1,000 to 2,000 cases in less than 30 days. That gives a pretty good idea of what’s going on right now.”
Raising the alert level from green to yellow doesn’t impose any additional mandates on businesses. It primarily serves to let the public know cases are trending in the wrong direction.
“The intent isn’t to scare anyone,” said board member Connie Osborn, a registered nurse and chief quality officer at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow. “The intent is to give them information. … Going to yellow just gives them a visual sign that the numbers are increasing.”