COVID-19: Community spread identified in Benewah, Bonner Counties

The Panhandle Health District (PHD) has identified community transmission, also referred to as community spread, in Benewah and Bonner counties.

Community spread means at least one person has been infected with the virus and, through contact tracing, PHD is unable to determine how or where they became infected. The individual(s) did not travel and had no identified contact with another person with COVID-19. PHD urges all residents to assume the virus could be anywhere in the community and surrounding counties.

Community spread has been previously identified in Kootenai County.

There are a total of 97 cases of COVID-19 in the Panhandle area as of today. That is an increase of 18 cases since last week. Kootenai county has 78 cases, Benewah county has 7 cases, and Bonner county has 5 cases. PHD is still researching 7 of the cases to determine what county they primarily reside in. Of the total cases, PHD is no longer monitoring 69 cases, so there is a total of 28 active cases currently.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has announced that there are 22 cases associated with the reservation. This does not match PHD's case count for Benewah County. Cases are counted based on an individual’s primary county of residence, so the cases the Tribe has announced aren’t necessarily all primary residents of Benewah County.

Once PHD receives notification of a confirmed case from a lab, they connect with that individual to verify their information. This can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Contact tracing is voluntary and we rely on an individual’s willingness to participate. Information provided may be incomplete, incorrect, or not provided at all. Those experiencing homelessness or are in a transient living situation are other possible reasons it may take longer to determine a primary county of residence.

PHD will continue to monitor the situation closely and are working with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, tribal communities, city leaders, schools, emergency management, healthcare providers, and our community at large to help prevent the further spread of this virus. The Panhandle area covers the 5 northern counties, Kootenai, Bonner, Benewah, Boundary, and Shoshone.

According to the CDC, people with COVID-19 have had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness.

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.

People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Fever

• Chills

• Muscle pain

• Sore throat

• New loss of taste or smell

This list is not all possible symptoms. Other less common symptoms have been reported, including gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

If community members have these symptoms and they become severe, they should call PHD’s call center at 1-877-415-5225 or their provider. PHD will provide an over-the- phone assessment to determine if someone should be tested. Please call, do not come into PHD or your provider’s office.