Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer is expected to sign a letter tonight proclaiming a local disaster emergency in response to the coronavirus.

The move will allow the city to submit expenditures and regarding crisis management to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We discussed amongst the city team to have this declaration to open up funding options and all other measures to enable us to keep our citizens safe and healthy,” Widmyer said. “It’s critical that all our citizens take the recommendations of our health care professionals very seriously. We need to stop the spread, and it’s going to take all of us working together to beat this virus.”

Widmyer said he will sign the declaration during the regularly-scheduled city council meeting, which begins at 6 tonight.

— CDA Press