Panhandle scales back COVID-19 announcements
Panhandle Health emphasizes concerned residents should access the district's Facebook page and website for accurate information. The organization is scaling back from its daily releases and reverting to updating COVID-19 statistics on its pages everyday at noon. (Image courtesy of Panhandle Health)
The Panhandle Health District announced Monday that, in an effort to remain consistent across the board, the public health organization is changing the way the COVID-19 watchdogs update the public.
“The other health districts around Idaho have been reporting this way for some time now,” said Katherine Hoyer, public information officer for Panhandle Health District. “So we decided to follow suit for consistency.”
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Idaho Panhandle is holding at 65, the vast majority of which residing in Kootenai County. Previously, along with updating its website and social media, the district posted press releases with updated numbers whenever a new case or a cluster of cases occurred.
Now, Panhandle Health will only send press releases when a county experiences its first case, or if a patient infected with the disease passes away. Boundary, Benewah and Shoshone counties, according to the state’s coronavirus website, have no reported cases at this time.
“We’ve been updating our webpage and Facebook page throughout this pandemic,” Hoyer said, “so really the only change is no longer doing a daily press release.”
Panhandle will continue to update infection numbers on its website — http://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/covid-19 — and on its Facebook page everyday at noon.