Most Riggins EMTs exposed to coronavirus

A majority of Riggins’ emergency medical technicians are under self-quarantine after being exposed without their knowledge to a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Mayor Glenna McClure said all but three of the town’s nearly 10 EMTs have been sidelined for the time being.

“They are self-quarantining after they were around someone that had the virus and wasn’t told,” McClure said Thursday. “We’re not too happy about this. It’s really tough to go on with this.”

The EMTs are a mostly volunteer group, she added. Despite the setback, McClure said the team is still able to operate and “once these others are out of quarantine, they’ll be able to come back.”

A man who lives in the Riggins area told the Lewiston Tribune on Thursday that it is his wife who is the coronavirus victim.

The man, who did not want to be named, said his wife has been undergoing treatment for cancer and was ill earlier this week. The Riggins EMT team was dispatched Wednesday and took her to St. Luke’s Hospital in McCall.

From there she was taken to St. Luke’s in Boise. A spokeswoman at the hospital confirmed the woman is a patient there, but would not give any further information.

Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said Thursday that the man wrote some inflammatory messages on social media that some people in the community of Riggins saw as threatening. Giddings said he talked to the man and made it clear that such messages were inappropriate and the messages have since been corrected.

“We’ve dealt with him and the threat is over,” Giddings said. “He didn’t mean to get people excited. He was just trying to convince people that it was really serious. His wife was taken to the hospital and he doesn’t know if he has (the virus) or not. He put on Facebook some stupid stuff but he cleared that up and we put on Facebook that he’s staying at home.”

Giddings said the man had intended to come to Riggins to buy groceries, but was told he is not allowed to come into town.

“He agreed to do that and we only deal with the situation as it exists,” the sheriff said. “We’re good to go. There’s no threat.”

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.