Gov. Brad Little announced Idaho will move to stage three of the Idaho Rebounds program in a press conference today.
Bars and movie theaters, both originally intended to open in stage four, will now be allowed to open in stage three. The only other change to the plan is the continuation of 14-day self-quarantines for out-of-state travelers from areas with community spread. Stage three originally discontinued all self-quarantine for people entering Idaho.
Little moved bars to this stage two weeks ago. Nightclubs, however, still must wait until stage four. Little clarified the difference between bars and nightclubs as a difference in concentration of people and possible exposure.
Dance floors were one issue he mentioned. If a nightclub were to add tables to the dance floor, therefore minimizing the maximum number of people in the club, the establishment could move into the “bars” category, Little said.
Little said movie theaters were added to stage three because industry professionals presented protocols that met criteria for “minimizing transmissible moments.” Some movie theater operators will likely open later regardless, he said.
“I would much rather start something a little earlier than have to delay things to a later point in time,” Little said.
Other details of the plan, including allowing gatherings up to 50 people, prohibiting visits to senior living facilities and jails, encouraging telework and keeping sporting venues closed, remain the same. Outdoor theaters and gathering places like water parks and splash pads are being evaluated by location and the number of people involved, Little said.
“On May 1, 90% of Idaho businesses were able to open their doors,” Little said. “On May 16, 95% of Idaho businesses will be able to open their doors and on Saturday, nearly all Idaho businesses will be able to open their doors.”
Dr. Christine Hahn, the state epidemiologist, presented three types of criteria Idaho used to determine whether the state could move to stage three of reopening. These criteria include epidemiologic, syndromic and healthcare-related criteria.
Epidemiologic criteria evaluate the number of COVID-19 cases and the percentage of positive lab tests. Syndromic criteria evaluate the number of emergency department visits for COVID-like illnesses and how many patients of those patients were admitted to the hospital. Healthcare criteria evaluates the strain on hospitals by examining how many ventilators and ICU beds are available, how much PPE is available to healthcare workers and how many cases of COVID-19 are reported among healthcare workers.
“We are not operating under what are called crisis standards of care,” Hahn said. “That’s standards hospitals can use if they are so pinched for resources that they actually can’t provide usual standard of care. We are not at that place at all. We are very comfortably treating all patients with good standards of care.”
Hahn said the state looked at criteria used in the national Opening Up America Again plan and customized details for the state of Idaho. Criteria specific to Idaho is available under the “Meeting Idaho Criteria Means Advancing to a Staged Approach” tab on this page of the Idaho Rebounds website.
Hahn said the large jump in cases reported May 22 came from a large screening at a food plant for Rite Stuff Foods in Jerome County. As originally reported by the Idaho Statesman, the company arranged to test 173 employees May 19. At least 50 of those employees ended up testing positive. According to The Argonaut‘s cases page, a jump in 97 cases was reported between May 21 and May 22. Only 23 of those cases came from Jerome county.
Idaho had to remain under a 5% threshold of positive lab results for COVID-19 to move to stage three. Including data from the Rite Stuff Foods outbreak, Hahn said the average percentage of positive tests was 3.37%.
“So that large testing event, in addition to other testing that’s going around the state, led to that bump,” Hahn said. “That’s a good thing. We want to see more testing happening, we want to find out about these events. But at the same time, we need to look at other things.”
To address the disparity in impact on the Latino community, Little said the state has provided documents in Spanish on government websites, outreach and education opportunities and more. He said he recognizes food processing facilities and other areas with high transmission rates employ many Latino individuals.
The state is addressing a gap in access to testing by using an “all-hands-on-deck” approach, Little said. The testing, which can cost between $100 and $150 per test, is being covered by employers, local hospitals, national pharmacy chains and others, but Little said he wants to reduce the cost as well.
Little said he hopes for a saliva test for every schoolteacher at minimum before K-12 institutions reopen in the fall. He also stated concerns about a backlog of jury trials in courts and the need to test jury pools.
Little said the importance of personal actions and responsibility in ensuring the continuation of reopening Idaho. He encouraged staying six feet apart from others in public and continuing to wear masks to protect and respect the employees of opened businesses. It’s the right thing to do, he said.
“Now, when you’re outside, particularly when you’re out in the sunshine, if you don’t have a cough or anything and you’re not being close to anything, that’s totally different,” Little said. “But if you’re in an enclosed environment, the circulation is maybe of question, wearing a mask is the right thing for you to do and it’s the right thing for you to do for everybody else.”
The full press conference is available to watch on Facebook. Details on guidance for businesses and more are available on the Idaho Rebounds website. Current information on COVID-19 cases, testing, demographics and more are available on our page or on the Idaho state COVID-19 website.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]