Five virus deaths reported in region

Five deaths from COVID-19 were reported by health officials in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington on Monday.

Public Health – Idaho North Central District reported four new deaths from COVID-19. There was one death each in Lewis and Latah counties and two deaths in Nez Perce County, including two men and two women, two in their 50s, one in their 60s and one in their 70s.

Whitman County also reported a virus death. No details about the person who died were provided.

The Idaho North Central District also reported 245 new cases Monday. Those include 42 infections in Clearwater County, 19 in Idaho County, 15 in Lewis County, 88 in Latah County and 81 in Nez Perce County.

Whitman County reported 100 new infections Monday; Garfield County had eight new cases; and Asotin County has added 59 new cases since last week for a 14-day count of 570.

St. Joseph Regional Medical Center reported 15 patients Monday who are being treated for COVID-19. That’s the same number of patients as last week.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little activated the Idaho National Guard on Monday for the fourth time during the pandemic because of the strain of COVID-19.

Little activated 75 Guardsmen to assist Primary Health Medical Group in southwest Idaho and the Idaho Department of Correction, both of which are experiencing staffing shortages because of the high number of employees absent from work who have been infected with COVID-19.

Little also secured 503 additional personnel through a state contract to assist Idaho hospitals overwhelmed by the virus. The additional personnel is provided through a contract with ACI Federal, said Natalie Shaver, public information officer with the Idaho Office of Emergency Management.

These are civilian medical professionals, not National Guardsmen, Shaver said.

Lt. Col. Christopher Borders, public affairs officer for the National Guard, said Guardsmen will support Primary Health in the same way they provided help earlier in the pandemic.

“We will perform tasks that allow health care providers to focus on delivering essential care,” Borders said in an email. “This includes screening at the front doors, managing traffic flow at drive through testing centers, data entry, etc. — non-medical tasks.”

Borders added that the Guard will provide medical teams and general support to the Idaho Department of Correction. Duties will include administering vaccines and boosters to staff and residents; conducting COVID-19 testing for staff and residents; and providing other nonsecurity duties like staffing the front doors, verifying staff credentials, distributing meals, monitoring radios and assisting dispatch centers.

Jeffrey Ray, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Correction, said in a news release that Monday, 201 department staff members were unable to report to work because they had recently tested positive for the virus or had close contact with someone who had tested positive. Ray said that is the highest number of staff absences since the pandemic began.

North Idaho Correctional Institution at Cottonwood reported 51 residents and nine staff members who tested positive with COVID-19 in the past two weeks. North Idaho Correctional Institution at Orofino had 11 staff members out for COVID-19 reasons on Monday, Ray reported.

The National Guard will provide support to correction facilities in the South Boise Correctional Complex. Ray said there are no plans at this time for Guardsmen to be assigned to the prisons at Cottonwood or Orofino.

“We are grateful to Gov. Little for making the National Guard available to us at this challenging time,” said Josh Tewalt, director of the Department of Correction. “We also thank Idaho National Guard Major General Michael Garshak and Idaho Office of Emergency Management’s Director Brady Richy for helping us assure the continued safe operation of our correctional facilities.”

The department incarcerates 7,200 people at nine prisons and four community reentry centers in Idaho. Another 1,556 people are incarcerated under the department’s jurisdiction in county jails and two private correctional facilities; one in south Boise and the other in Elroy, Ariz.

Tri-State Memorial Hospital and Medical Campus in Clarkston is hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the new Asotin County Fire Station at 2377 Appleside Blvd. The clinic will offer the vaccine booster to people who qualify and will also offer first-time vaccines for those who would like to receive one. No appointment is necessary and walk-ins are welcome.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare will hold a media briefing today at 1:30 p.m. PST via Webex. State department and health professionals will answer questions about COVID-19 from the media.

The general public can join the briefing as attendees in listen/watch-only mode by selecting this link: bit.ly/34aeRTz.

The Washington State Department of Corrections reported 19 prisons and work release facilities across the state currently have COVID-19 outbreaks. The department has taken a number of steps to address staffing shortages, the department reported in a news release.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.