UPDATED: Sunday 5:00 pm: The Panhandle Health District has confirmed three more COVID-19 cases in Kootenai County, pushing north Idaho's total to six. The latest cases are:
Case 4: Female under the age of 18 from Kootenai County. She is self-isolating at home. Contact tracing is ongoing.
Case 5: Male in his 30s from Kootenai County. The individual has been self-isolating at home. Contact tracing is ongoing.
Case 6: Female in her 30s from Kootenai County. She is currently self-isolating at home. Contact tracing is ongoing.
The state of Idaho is reporting 47 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 21 in Blaine County, 13 in Ada County.
UPDATED Saturday 2:30 pm: Spokane County health officials today announced five new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the county’s total to 16.
County Health Officer Bob Lutz announced Friday that he’s declaring a public health emergency. That includes closing public playgrounds as a way to enforce the physical distancing requirements, especially among children.
The Spokane Regional Health District says it’s following up with the people who tested positive to learn more about their recent contacts.
It's the third consecutive day Spokane County health officials confirmed new cases. Two people were added to the list on Friday and four on Thursday, including MultiCare's announcement that one of its employees, in the company's internal medicine clinic, has tested positive for COVID-19.
MultiCare says it’s investigating which patients may have had contact with the health care worker, with plans to contact them and monitor their symptoms. It’s also monitoring the health of the employee’s colleagues and cleaning and disinfecting the clinic where the employee worked before reopening the facility.
The company is one of several Spokane providers that are trying to route patients who don’t have serious health issues to non-clinical settings, such as online and phone consultations.