But fact is, North Idaho has seen zero cases

COEUR d’ALENE — No, there’s not a local outbreak of the coronavirus.

The Washington State Department of Health announced Tuesday that Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane is receiving five patients to quarantine and treat. The news prompted fears that the dreaded virus had reached the Inland Northwest and that locals were actually infected.

Not so.

Four patients arrived Thursday from Travis Air Force Base in California. The fifth had not arrived by Thursday evening.

The patients are being kept in isolation at Sacred Heart because it is one of 10 hospitals in the United States that offers an airborne infection isolation room.

Amy Ward, infection prevention manager at Kootenai Health, reiterated that no one in North Idaho has been diagnosed with the novel 2019 coronavirus.

“We have not had any patients under evaluation at Kootenai Health thus far,” Ward said Thursday.

She said Kootenai Health is prepared to handle patients with infectious diseases. “We will maintain our current practices for screening and have confidence in Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center’s capabilities to contain the virus within their Special Pathogens Unit,” Ward said.

Dr. Bob Lutz, Spokane County Health officer, said he has full confidence in the transport of the patients to Spokane.

“The risk to the general public is zero,” Lutz said at a press conference.

Novel 2019 coronavirus is believed to have stemmed from a market in Wuhan, China in December. As of press time Thursday, 2,129 have reportedly died from the virus, all but 11 passing away in mainland China, where health officials believe the outbreak is stabilizing.

The Sacred Heart patients are expected to stay in Spokane for up to two weeks.

Ward emphasized that the Coeur d’Alene-based community hospital is keeping a constant, open dialogue with Sacred Heart, the Panhandle Health District and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for updates and opportunities to assist.