POCATELLO — The region's emphasis on social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19 has already caused a sharp decline in visits by patients with unrelated respiratory ailments at Portneuf Medical Center's emergency room.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the local hospital has also built a large addition to serve as a triage area in preparation for a potential surge in local COVID-19 cases requiring medical care.

Doctor Dan Snell, PMC's chief medical officer, offered the updates as evidence to support his believe that the community is taking prudent steps toward minimizing the local impact of COVID-19. Snell updates the public on the situation daily at 3:30 p.m. on Facebook Live, streamed to the hospital's Facebook page.

Maggie Mann, director of Southeastern Idaho Public Health, makes similar Facebook Live addresses on weekdays starting at 11 a.m. on the health department's Facebook page.

For his program, Snell responds to questions from the public, submitted either on a Facebook link or live during his addresses.

One of the most encouraging facts he's reported is that the number of people coming to the PMC emergency room for respiratory ailments, such as pneumonia, has dropped by about 60 percent during the past week as more people have sought to limit their public exposure to COVID-19.

"Locally we're seeing evidence that the curve is doing what we hoped it would do," Snell said, adding he's optimistic the community will experience less COVID-19 transmission as a result.

On Thursday — the day after Gov. Brad Little issued a statewide stay-at-home order and closed non-essential businesses — Idaho reported 146 cases and its first three deaths — a Blaine County man over 60, a Blaine County man over 80 and a Canyon County man over 70 who had underlying health issues.

Snell said PMC has made structural changes, has updated staffing plans and is getting supplies from as many sources as possible.

"I feel confident in our ability to handle the outbreak when it comes," Snell said. "That confidence rises every day as supply chains get more reliable."

Furthermore, PMC built a new triage area on the east side of the facility, across from the parking lot. The triage area was initially just plastic sheeting extending from an overhang, but it blew away, so the hospital has built a temporary wall.

"We can heat it. We've got all of the necessary equipment for it. That equipment is ready to use," Snell said.

He said the triage area fits into the hospital's strategy of isolating COVID-19 patients from the rest of the population. He said a plastic wall covering an area of the hospital is already in place, though it's not currently in use.

Snell decided to start making the videos to provide a means for the public to get questions about COVID-19 answered in response to complaints he'd been hearing. He explained several people were calling their primary care physician, who would refer them to PMC, where they would be referred to Southeastern Idaho Public Health, only to be referred back to their primary care physician. He believes his segments, along with Mann's segments, have helped resolve the information gap.

Snell's updates, which last between 10 minutes and a half hour, have been well received. His Wednesday piece, for example, has been viewed more than 640 times.

Snell said many of the questions have centered on testing capacity for COVID-19.

"That is a big struggle that the state, and really the nation, is having," Snell said. "We're hoping that gets resolved within the next few weeks."

Snell said testing is useful to build an epidemiological database to better understand the disease and to track who should be isolated. From a treatment perspective, however, he said COVID-19 treatment relies on supportive care so the body can fight off infection — the same as with other illnesses.

Snell tries to keep his viewers apprised of the latest developments in a rapidly changing situation. For example, officials now recommend that people avoid getting tested for coronavirus unless they are symptomatic enough to require hospitalization, have traveled to a known COVID-19 hot-spot, have had contact with a known positive patient or have a respiratory illness of an unknown source.

Much is still to be learned about the disease, and Snell advises, "Viruses in general are going to continue to evolve. As it spreads, you'll see a wider variety of how it affects people."