After creeping closer and closer over the last week, the first positive test result for COVID-19 hit the region Sunday with the diagnosis of a woman who lives in Whitman County.

Whitman County Public Health Director Troy Henderson declined to identify the hometown of the woman, but a news release said she is in her 20s, has recovered and is self-isolating at home. Henderson said the overall lack of testing coupled with the presumed wide spread of the coronavirus means her location doesn’t really matter.

“Everyone in the community should assume that other people around them in the community are positive for COVID-19,” Henderson said Sunday afternoon. “For several weeks, I have said that the absence of a positive test does not in any way indicate that the disease isn’t in our community.”

That means everyone should be exercising appropriate social distancing by staying 6 feet away from other individuals and not congregating in groups larger than 10 people, he said.

The woman was tested two to three days before the positive result came in Sunday. The health department is working to identify anyone who may have an exposure risk because of contact with her, Henderson said.

In Idaho, the Public Health Central District office is asking anyone who recently traveled to Blaine County to shelter in place after three new Ada County residents and one Valley County resident tested positive for COVID-19 and confirmed travel to Blaine County.

Blaine County is home to the resort towns of Sun Valley and Ketchum, and has the highest concentration of positive COVID-19 tests in the state. It has been under an isolation order from Gov. Brad Little as of Friday night.

The shelter-in-place request from Central District public health officials is not an official mandate, but it asks people to stay home, except to get necessary medical care. They should monitor their symptoms and avoid close contact with anyone for 14 days after their last potential exposure date.

If sheltering individuals are symptom-free after that time, they may leave their place of shelter and follow recommendations for social distancing and personal hygiene, according to a Central District news release.

“We all have a personal responsibility to do the right thing to protect ourselves, our community and the entire state of Idaho,” Central District Director Russ Duke said in the news release.

People most at risk include those who have traveled to an area of high community transmission and who have symptoms of cough, fever and shortness of breath. Those who think they may have been exposed or are showing symptoms should call ahead to their health care provider, urgent care centers or a hospital emergency department to be screened before going in for a possible test, a Whitman County Health Department news release said.

Henderson has been one of the most vocal critics in the region of the ongoing testing supply shortage and the long turnaround to get results. On Sunday, he said it is probably too late for wider testing to make any difference regarding containment of the pandemic.

“We’ve not had sufficient testing from the beginning,” he said. “And we don’t have sufficient testing today. And so we’ve largely moved from containment to mitigation. So that’s why it’s not of much value for anyone in a certain town to know that someone in their town tested positive.”

Across the state line, Idaho Public Health North Central District Director Carol Moehrle said there were still no positive COVID-19 tests in the district as of Sunday afternoon. Other new cases in Idaho did continue to pop up, however.

The Panhandle Health District and Kootenai Health confirmed three additional cases in Kootenai County, bringing the total number of cases to six in the panhandle area that includes Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah, Bonner and Boundary counties.

The new cases are a female younger than the age of 18, a man in his 30s and a woman in her 30s, according to a news release. All three are self-isolating in their homes, and epidemiologists with the health district are investigating possible contacts the people have had.

“All household members of confirmed cases will be asked to self-isolate at home for a prescribed period of time,” the news release said. “If other people are found to have been exposed, health officials will provide guidance to these individuals and they will be asked to self-monitor for the development of symptoms.”

Little still declined to extend his isolation order for Blaine County statewide as of Sunday night. Dr. John Brown, the chief medical officer at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, praised entities like the city of Moscow, the University of Idaho and other organizations for voluntarily closing or greatly restricting public activities.

“Each of us has an urgent responsibility to drastically limit our social activity,” Brown wrote in a response to news of the positive Whitman County test. “Although we do not yet have an order (such as shelter in place) from the city or state, we would recommend you and your family to act as if we did. This means only leaving the house for critical and essential activities like getting groceries, medicine and supplies. If you must go in public, try to keep a distance of at least 6 feet from other people. This includes children so you cannot let them use the time away from school as a playdate with friends.”

Currently, no vaccine exists for COVID-19. Protective steps include:

Washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

Practicing social distancing of 6 feet from others, especially those who are sick.

Covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue in the trash and wash hands afterward.

Cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces.

Staying at home and away from others if sick.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2266.