First COVID-19 related death in Panhandle confirmed

Total cases hit 126

COEUR d’ALENE – The Panhandle Health District (PHD) announced the area’s first death related to COVID-19 on Monday. The individual was from Kootenai County and in his 70s. He had been hospitalized due to complications with COVID-19 after he was diagnosed in late May. Out of respect to him and his family, no additional details will be released.

“Our hearts are with the family, friends, and neighbors who are grieving,” said Lora Whalen, PHD Director. “We’ve all seen reports of COVID-19 related deaths in other states and counties, but losing a friend, and neighbor, reminds us how important it is to continue working to protect each other during this pandemic.”

As of June 15, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Idaho is 126- 99 coming from Kootenai County, 10 from Benewah, 7 from Bonner, and 10 yet to be identified. Shoshone and Bonner counties still report zero confirmed cases.

Once PHD receives notification of a confirmed case from a lab, they connect with that individual to verify their information. This can be difficult for a variety of reasons:

•Contact tracing is voluntary and PHD relies on an individual’s willingness to participate.

•Information provided may be incomplete, incorrect, or not provided at all.

•Those experiencing homelessness or are in a transient living situation are other possible reasons it may take longer to determine a primary county of residence.

Of those 126 total cases, 100 of them are no longer being monitored.

PHD will continue to monitor the situation closely and are working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, tribal communities, city leaders, schools, emergency management, healthcare providers, and the community at large to help prevent the further spread of this virus. The Panhandle area covers the 5 northern counties, Kootenai, Bonner, Benewah, Boundary, and Shoshone.

In the Panhandle area, community transmission, also referred to as community spread, has been identified in Kootenai, Bonner, and Benewah counties. Community spread means at least one person has been infected with the virus and through contact tracing we are unable to determine how or where they became infected. The individual(s) did not travel and had no identified contact with another person with COVID-19. PHD urges all residents to assume the virus could be anywhere in the community and surrounding counties.

PHD urges all residents to take precautions to slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes, practicing physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings in public places, practicing good hand hygiene, staying home when sick, sanitizing high-touch surfaces regularly and isolating immediately if you show symptoms of COVID-19.

According to the CDC, people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

•Fever or chills

•Cough

•Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

•Fatigue

•Muscle or body aches

•Headache

•New loss of taste or smell

•Sore throat

•Congestion or runny nose

•Nausea or vomiting

•Diarrhea

*This list does not include all possible symptoms.

For more information regarding COVID-19, visit panhandlehealthdistrict.org/covid-19 or call the Panhandle Health District Hotline Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 877-415-5225.