The Council of the EIPH makes changes to the public health order during a special meeting on Monday morning.
IDAHO FALLS – The East Idaho Public Health Council voted Monday morning to remove restrictions on the collection of its public health order.
The decision brought the local order in line with Governor Brad Little’s revised order issued last week. During their special Zoom meeting, board members discussed how the decision eliminates confusion about which order to follow.
Although the EIPH has dropped its limits, there are still many public and private gatherings of more than ten people recommended by Little.
Little on Wednesday instructed the State Board of Education to review its high school athletics plan to allow more spectators at sporting events.
According to documents shared at Monday’s meeting, the new plan allows for up to 40% or up to four spectators per student, whichever is greater. The previous guidelines allowed only two people per participant in the athletics meet.
Some lawmakers in Idaho are also trying to pass a resolution that would remove the collection of restrictions altogether as part of the Idaho Rebounds plan that Little and IDHW drafted on Dec. 30. The resolution is scheduled for a third reading on the home floor Monday morning.
Additional legislation is on the table to limit Little’s executive powers issued in response to the pandemic.
For several weeks, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across the country have declined. According to EIPH, there are 364 active cases of COVID-19 in the eight district health districts. More than 21,000 people have recovered from the virus, while 200 have died, according to numbers updated on Sunday night.
Vaccines to combat the virus have rolled to Idaho over the past month. Since the first dose was administered on Dec. 14, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has shown that 64,157 people in the country have received at least the first dose of the vaccine. In EIPH, 10 188 people were vaccinated.
Reed stressed that people should still wear face masks if they cannot socially distance themselves, wash their hands and follow other guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“All the measures that Idaho has helped and our area to bring these numbers down and get to where we are now must continue,” Reed said. “I was very worried that (if) we dropped ours, what would happen?”
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