Central District Health Board votes to not adopt a district-wide public health order

Public Health Orders for Ada and Valley Counties and district-wide Public Health Advisory remain in effect

Central District Health, Idaho —Today, during a regularly scheduled meeting, the Central District Board of Health voted to not adopt a district-wide draft public health order that has been under discussion since December 4, 2020.

The seven-member Board voted against the draft public health order. All three Ada County Board Members, Commissioner Diana Lachiondo, Dr. Ted Epperly, and Dr. Jane Young, voted in favor of the motion. Elmore County, Valley County, and Boise County Board Members, Rep. Megan Blanksma, Commissioner Elt Hasbrouck, and Commissioner Ryan Stirm, voted against the motion. Board Chair Betty Ann Nettleton abstained from voting to break the tie, and the motion automatically failed.

The Board began discussing the draft district-wide order earlier this month in response to rising case counts, hospitalizations, admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) at local hospitals, and the threat of looming holiday impacts further burdening our communities. The draft order sought to help drive down case counts and preserve hospital capacity.

The Board discussed its commitment to the public health of CDH’s jurisdiction and addressed the need for ongoing cooperation among residents within the counties they represent.

Orders remain in place for Ada and Valley Counties; district-wide Advisory in place

While the district-wide draft order was not approved, a Public Health Order remains in place for Ada County [enacted June 26, 2020] and a Mask Order remains effective for Valley County [enacted Aug. 11, 2020]. Additionally, a district-wide Public Health Advisory [issued Nov. 17, 2020] is also in place and outlines strong recommendations to reduce COVID-19 exposure risk for all Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley County residents.

Current data still experiencing backlogs

CDH is currently experiencing a backlog of lab reports that need to be processed to determine case status. This means that numbers presented among daily case counts and weekly data sets do not reflect the full picture of activity in our communities. In the interim, CDH has added a table on its data dashboard illustrating electronic lab reports that have not yet been processed. These numbers do not include any lab reports that may be submitted by fax. With case counts last week estimated at 2,500 across CDH’s district, COVID-19 is continuing to infect our community members at a pace that makes it challenging to know where illness clusters are happening in our communities, and what trends are occurring.

With the additional holidays in December, CDH reminds everyone that making adjustments to daily life including choosing online shopping or curbside pick-up instead of in-person shopping trips wherever possible, celebrations with only your household members, opting to not travel this year, wearing a mask whenever in public, and getting a flu shot, can go a long way in reducing your risk for exposure and exposing others, if you are infected with COVID-19 and do not know it.

Background

· Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020: Board voted to hold a special meeting on Dec. 4 to discuss elevating the district-wide Public Health Advisory to a district-wide Public Health Order.

· Friday, Dec. 4, 2020: The Board of Health held a special meeting with the intent of discussing the draft order, which had been publicly shared for written public comment. Based on public comments, CDH’s Board opted to make some revisions to the draft order for near-term discussion.

· Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020: The Board of Health held a regular meeting to revisit the revised draft order. The meeting was cut short by security concerns given hundreds of protestors at CDH’s Boise headquarters and some protestors appearing outside the homes of two Board members.

Next Board of Health Meeting

The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Friday, December 18 at 8:30 am. This is a regular Board business meeting that will include an update on COVID-19 vaccine from CDH staff and other public health-related business. To view the agenda, visit https://www.cdh.idaho.gov/about-boardofhealth-meetings.php and view the Upcoming Meetings & Agendas section.