Public Health — Idaho North Central District (PH-INCD) has confirmed widespread community spread of COVID-19 throughout the district, according to a press release. PH-INCD serves Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis and Nez Perce Counties. Community spread means at least one person has been infected in a situation where they did not travel and contact tracers were unable to determine how they were infected.
PH-INCD urges residents of all the counties it serves to assume the virus could be anywhere.
“We understand that social connections are vitally important to people, but we also want people to take precautions when interacting with others to minimize the opportunities for COVID-19 to be spread,” PH-INCD Director Carol Moehrle said. “We anticipate we will continue to see an increase in cases of COVID-19 in our district due to the large events that took place in June and are expected in July and August.”
According to the press release, choosing to gather in close contact with others (closer than six feet of social distancing) and choosing activities which involve a lot of breathing, like singing, yelling and talking, put people at higher risk of catching COVID-19. Symptoms can appear between two days and two weeks after exposure.
Although COVID-19 has a high recovery rate in healthy people, people over 65 years old and people with underlying health conditions are at risk for severe illness and possibly death due to the illness.
PH-INCD recommends the following to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19:
- Stay home if you are sick
- Practice self-distancing (maintaining at least 6 feet between individuals)
- Wear a fabric face covering or mask when in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
- Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer
- Limit close contact with people who are sick
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If you are experiencing cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat and/or a new loss of taste or smell, you may have COVID-19. We encourage you to contact a healthcare provider. To check yourself for symptoms, you can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 website and click “Self check symptoms.”
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]