Little extends stay-home mandate

Gov. Brad Little extended his stay-home order to April 30 during a press conference Wednesday morning.

“We’ll continue to fight the coronavirus together and I appreciate your widespread support of your neighbors and your communities,” he said.

Little said efforts to flatten the curve on the virus’s impact on the state’s health care systems are working, but more needs to be done.

“Everyone must ramp up their efforts to do two things,” he said: “social distancing and wearing masks in public.”

In one softening of the original order, signed March 25, Little announced that some retail businesses that are considered nonessential will be able to follow the lead of some restaurants. A retail business that can provide curbside service or delivery and does not violate the law or ignore social distancing and hygiene mandates can begin operating immediately, he said.

The original order heavily curtailed — and shuttered, in some cases — businesses throughout North Idaho and across the state as the pandemic has infected more than 2 million worldwide, killing more than 130,000.

Little said many previously identified nonessential businesses should prepare to re-open in stages after April 30, though he wouldn’t guarantee the order will expire April 30.

“Our goal is for most businesses to open after the end of the month, with the understanding that it may not be possible if there’s an upward trend in severe COVID-19 cases in Idaho between now and then,” he said.

Little also announced that most out-of-state visitors who enter the state will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. Only those who live in Idaho but work in another state — or vice versa — will not be required to self-isolate. He did not say how the self-quarantine would be monitored or enforced, adding that he understands the frustrations some Idahoans have expressed.

“We are hearing from those communities about people adjacent to those state parks who are Idaho citizens,” Little said. “[They] are coming into the parking lots at our state parks and seeing a bunch of out-of-state license plates.”

Little also said he empathizes with residents in less-infected areas of Idaho — like the Panhandle — who feel restless to the point they believe the stay-home order was unnecessary.

“We are making incredible progress because of the current behavior of the people of Idaho,” Little said. “... Continuing to do that is the right thing to do. Go ahead and go out for a walk if you need to ... I hate to tell people to be patient in these trying times, but that’s the message.”

Some North Idaho leaders have openly questioned Little’s original proclamation, calling the order everything from unnecessary to unconstitutional.

“I’m keenly aware there are places in the state where, to their knowledge, they don’t have any spread,” Little said. “But because we don’t have enough testing, we are not fully confident [in those areas].”

Little stopped short of criticizing local leaders who are pushing back against the order.

“I get it,” he said. “Somewhere in my DNA, there are some Libertarian bones, and that’s my nature. But this particular issue requires an incredible amount of leadership to make the hard decisions to get over this. This is what the chief executive, this is what your job is, is to collectively look at what’s the best thing for your community, and I’m going to continue to do that.”