Three more Kootenai County deaths attributed to COVID-19

COEUR d’ALENE — Three more Kootenai County residents have died due to the coronavirus.

The Panhandle Health District reported Wednesday that the county’s death toll from COVID-19 rose to nine. All are between the ages of 70 and 100.

The number of cases in the PHD totals 1,697, with 55 new cases Wednesday. Thirty-five people are hospitalized at Kootenai Health.

Kootenai County’s case count rose 51 to 1,415, still less than 1 percent of its population of about 165,000.

Bonner County is at 139 cases, Shoshone is at 56, Benewah is at 39 and Boundary is at 33. There are 15 undetermined cases.

Nearly a third of the cases in PHD, 489, are in the 18-29 age group.

Health officials continue to remind people to adhere to the recently passed PHD board’s mandate for Kootenai County to wear masks, as well as wash hands and maintain social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

While most people who get the virus experience mild symptoms such as fever, coughs or fatigue, it does cause severe illness in others, and is a particular threat to the elderly and those with compromised health systems.