Benewah COVID-19 cases jump to 4

COEUR d'ALENE – The Idaho Panhandle area has a total of 79 COVID-19 cases as of May 27. PHD is no longer monitoring 68 of those individuals.

Of the confirmed cases, 66 have been from Kootenai county, 4 in Bonner county, and 4 in Benewah county. PHD is still investigating what county five of the infected residents reside in. That information will be updated on our website as soon as we have it available.

Panhandle Health District (PHD) will announce if there are new COVID-19 cases at noon Monday through Friday on their website and Facebook page. PHD will send out a press release to announce a county’s first case of COVID-19, the first death in a county, or any other unique situations that may occur.

For all cases of COVID-19, PHD epidemiologists conduct contact tracing and close contacts will be contacted if they are potentially at risk. Additional case-specific information about this individual is confidential and will not be released.

PHD will continue to monitor the situation closely and are working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, our Tribal partners, city leaders, schools, emergency management, healthcare providers, and our 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.

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:

-Cough

-Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

-Fever

-Chills

-Muscle pain

-Sore throat

-New loss of taste or smell

This list is not all possible symptoms. Other less common symptoms have been reported, including gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

If community members have these symptoms and they become severe, they should call PHD’s call center at 1-877-415-5225 or their provider. 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.