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Federal, state and city leaders address Idaho's COVID-19 concerns

KTVB listened in on a virtual roundtable, an AARP town hall and a Facebook Live on Wednesday.

BOISE, Idaho — Sen. Mike Crapo joined Gov. Brad Little and AARP Idaho on Wednesday during their weekly town hall. 

The senator from Idaho told callers he is working closely with both the president and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin.

“In addition to fighting the virus and protecting people on a healthcare basis we have to have an economy that can stand back up,” Crapo said.

He also gave insight into federal government funding.

“Another thing people don't realize we did was we put about $450 billion into what's called the emergency stabilization fund, which is what Treasury uses to work with our Federal Reserve to provide leveraged loans to businesses so we can put liquidity into our markets,” Crapo said.

On the same call, Gov. Little revealed the state is anxiously awaiting more affordable and accessible tests. “We’d love to have a self-test whether it be saliva or a self-administered swab rather than the invasive PCR test,” he said.

RELATED: Idaho coronavirus updates: Largest single-day increase in new cases; Treasure Valley continues to be hot spot

Dave Jeppesen, director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare director, added that they've seen a lot of movement on the testing front in just the last couple of weeks.

“The state lab when we started could do 12 a day, 12 to 14, now we're moving to 500 a day and you can see that in our numbers, through the month of May we were at 4,000 to 5,000 tests a week and here in June we've bumped that up to 8,000 to 10,000 tests and I can tell you we're doing everything we can to continue to increase that testing capacity,” Jeppesen said.

Also Wednesday, Boise Mayor Lauren Mclean held her weekly roundtable and addressed Ada County's roll-back to Stage 3 of reopening.

“We have to realize that we could move to Stage 2 if the virus continues to spread and health professionals suggest that's the most prudent step to take,” Mclean said.

The mayor's roundtable comes 24 hours after she signed a new public health order, which lays out specific requirements for businesses and city departments. 

“The more we do together now to protect each other, the further we'll be able to get into economic recovery and life as we once knew it,” Mclean said. 

During Wednesday’s AARP town hall, a caller said she still had not received her stimulus check. Sen. Crapo responded, saying anyone in that same boat should contact his office or visit the IRS website for help.

He also said he is confident that a coronavirus a vaccine will be available later this year.

Meantime, the Department of Health and Welfare held a Facebook Live Wednesday and informed people about ‘One Idaho,’ a website where both individuals and businesses can sign up and pledge that they're doing their part during the pandemic.

RELATED: Interactive map and timelines tracking coronavirus numbers and trends in Idaho

RELATED: While COVID-19 cases in Canyon County grow, Southwest District Health has no plans to return to Stage 3

Facts not fear: More on coronavirus

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