Health district: 66 new cases of COVID-19 in region
KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 12 months AGO
SANDPOINT — The Panhandle Health District said 66 new cases of novel coronavirus, two of which are in Bonner County, were tallied on Friday.
The new cases bring the regional total to 1,130 cases, 1,116 of which have been confirmed through laboratory testing, the health district said.
Kootenai County has had 966 cases since the pandemic began this spring. Of those cases, 958 were lab confirmed and the county currently has 618 active cases. Bonner County has had 93 cases, 87 of which are lab confirmed and 61 of which are active, according to the health district.
Benewah County has had 28 cases, all of which are lab confirmed. That county has nine active cases, PHD said.
Shoshone has accrued 20 cases, 19 of which are confirmed and remain active.
Boundary County Emergency Management said on Friday that six more cases of the virus which causes COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases to 13.
“Boundary County residents confirmed to have the virus are mostly in their 30s and 40s, though one patient is reportedly a young child and another is a gentleman is 76 years old,” Emergency Management Director Andrew O’Neel said in a news release.
O’Neel said symptoms among patients in Boundary County have been fairly mild and resemble those of allergies, such as a runny nose, mild headache and sore throat.
“Symptoms can be much more severe and even life-threatening for our most vulnerable residents, such as those with pre-existing health conditions and senior citizens,” O’Neel said.
Panhandle Health said 412 residents are no longer being monitored for the virus, which has caused 35 hospitalizations since the outbreak began. Eleven Panhandle residents are hospitalized, the district said.
The Idaho Department of Health & Welfare said there were 619 new confirmed or probable cases on Friday, elevating the statewide total to 13,752 cases. The virus is blamed for 118 deaths across the state.
The Northeast Tri-County Health District in Washington state said there were five new cases of the virus on Friday, one of which emerged in Pend Oreille County. The district said 64 cases have been tallied since the start of the pandemic.
Stevens County has 40 cases, while Pend Oreille County has 18 cases. Thirteen of Pend Oreille County’s cases surfaced in the last two weeks, according to NETCHD.
The state of Montana, meanwhile, has implemented a statewide mask mandate. The Associated Press reported that the move comes after hundreds of residents, healthcare professionals and business owners demanded the mandate as cases mount in the state.
The Montana State Department of Public Health said 137 new cases of the virus were counted on Friday, bringing the statewide total to 2,366 cases. There are 35 cases in Lincoln County and four cases in Sanders County.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.
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