BOISE, Idaho — Boise Mayor Lauren McLean gave an update today on the city’s response to the coronavirus, including coordination and preparation for an outbreak.
The mayor's press conference started at Boise City Hall at 3:30 p.m. and she reiterated that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Idaho.
She also announced that major events like Treefort Music Fest 2020 will go on planned, as Central District Health has not given guidance to cancel major events.
"We’ve had questions about plans to cancel events and at this point, we’ve received no guidance or warnings from central district health that would provide me the reason behind issuing the cancellation of an event," she said. "While this is what we’re hearing from Central District Health now, we recognize that it could change any time."
Organizers say Treefort Music Fest 2020 will go on as planned and they are closely monitoring the coronavirus. The festival is scheduled for March 25-29 in Boise.
Event planners told KTVB that they are working closely with Central District Health and city officials to ensure all necessary precautions are taken.
Last week, McLean announced the creation of a Coronavirus Task Force. During Tuesday's press conference, McLean added that elected officials are working with agencies on a coordinated response.
"It's important to remember that the individual risk to Idaho is low, but we want to be prepared as a city if there is an outbreak to address it quickly and efficiently," McClean said in a press release. "This task force will ensure we can do that."
As of Tuesday, there are still no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Idaho. A total of 41 people have been monitored by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Of that number, 36 are no longer being monitored, meaning five people are still under observation.
According to the Idaho DHW, a total of 51 people in Idaho have been tested for the virus, including four Oregon residents tested in Idaho.
Mayor McLean also added that the City of Boise will add sanitation stations at city libraries, City Hall, and the Boise Airport. She also said that the city will clean the Boise Airport more often now.
"So we’re encouraging all events that are upcoming to be working with Central District Health on ways to protect their attendees but also contingency plans in the event that confirmed cases arrive here in Idaho and we need to take action," she said.
The City of Meridian is also closely monitoring the spread of the coronavirus. ON Tuesday afternoon, the city announced that they "are actively participating with the local Ada County Emergency Management planning group and are part of regional planning discussions."
Officials added that if local and state agencies make any recommendations, they'll make future announcements.
They stressed that people should not depend on social media for important health information.
"If social media is your go-to source for news, be sure to follow the agencies above and avoid believing or spreading inaccurate information from unofficial people and pages," the city said in a statement.
Facts not fear: Putting COVID-19 into context
The majority of people who have coronavirus will get better without any long-term effects, according to an Oregon doctor. About 82% of cases tend to be mild. In these cases, symptoms diminish over five to seven days, although people are still capable of transmitting the disease. But there are many people with a higher risk of having a more severe disease if they are diagnosed with coronavirus, including those with heart disease, diabetes, asthma and other vascular disease problems.
Also, most children who get it have mild symptoms.
To put the coronavirus numbers in context, millions of Americans get the flu every single year and there are thousands of flu deaths annually.
Since October 2019, the CDC estimates around 32 million Americans have gotten the flu. That’s one in every 10 Americans.
Since the coronavirus outbreak began late last year, there have been around 80,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in China. That means those cases account for just around .0056% of China's population.”
Facts not fear: More on coronavirus
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