County extends emergency declaration

The Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management, activated by the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chris Fillios on Sunday, was extended indefinitely and unanimously by the board Tuesday.

The emergency declaration continues the county’s Emergency Operations Center for the COVID-19 event beyond the seven-day limit initiated Sunday, as long as deemed necessary.

The county asks that questions be directed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov or by calling Panhandle Health District Coronavirus information hotline at 877-415-5225 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The hotline received more than 300 phone calls Monday, according to PHD.

Fillios signed a disaster declaration Sunday to help combat the coronavirus and provide the county with federal and state resources. As a result, the Office of Emergency Management activated the Emergency Operations Center.

Commissioners are investigating ways to seek additional testing resources within the county to widen the spectrum of individuals recommended for testing.

“Testing is the single most challenging component here,” said Joe Righello, Environmental and Health protection administrator for the Panhandle Health District.

COVID-19 tests still require a health care provider to order the test. Righello said the federal government is currently trying to set up an online symptom checker to expedite the process to qualify for a COVID-19 test.

When someone calls the PHD’s coronavirus hotline, if call operators believe that person is at a medium or high risk of having the disease, clinical staff will follow up with the individual on the phone in order to lessen the strain on area medical providers. After further clinical assessment over the phone with the individual, clinical staff can order a test if they feel it is necessary.

The individual will then be asked to go to Kootenai Health’s 2207 Ironwood site for a sample to be collected.

The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories does not have a testing fee for the coronavirus, but there could be a fee charged by the provider. Private labs, including LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, and the University of Washington Lab have an approximate $200 fee to process the test, according to PHD’s public information officer Katherine Hoyer.

Health care providers are currently prioritizing testing for high risk individuals, including health care workers and long-term care facility workers, according to Hoyer.

Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Post Falls and Rathdrum issued a press release Tuesday stating their support for the emergency declarations.