Confirmed North Idaho COVID-19 cases hit 30

Panhandle Health District and Kootenai Health have confirmed that there is community transmission of COVID-19 in Kootenai County.

Two additional case of COVID-19 were confirmed on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 30 in the panhandle area- 29 in Kootenai County and one in Bonner County. The first case confirmed in Bonner County on Sunday, March 29.

Details on new cases will be posted on the PHD website page in real time: www.panhandlehealthdistrict.org/covid-19/.

In the United States, there have been 122,653 cases and 2,112 deaths as of March 29, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Epidemiologists with PHD are working to investigate cases of possible contact. All household members of confirmed cases have been asked to self-isolate at home for a prescribed period of time. 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.

PHD will continue to monitor the situation closely and are working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, city and county leaders, schools, emergency management, health care providers, and our community at large to help prevent the spread of this virus.

People ill with this coronavirus in other states and countries have reported mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

If community members have these symptoms and they become severe, they should call PHD’s call center at 1-877-415-5225, their provider, or the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-330-3010.

PHD will provide an over-the-phone assessment to determine if someone should be tested.

Please call, do not come into PHD or your provider’s office. Tested individuals must stay home until test results are received.

If the test is positive, all household members must self-isolate at home for a prescribed period of time.