No coronavirus in jail

COEUR d'ALENE — The last round of COVID-19 tests from inmates and staff at the Kootenai County jail found no positive cases.

"We are pleased to announce that there are no inmates that are currently positive with COVID-19," a Wednesday press release said. "Additionally, there are no staff that are positive with COVID-19."

Two weeks ago, the Kootenai County jail tested the entire inmate population, 334, and found that 51 inmates and six staff members tested positive.

According to the release, the majority of inmates and staff who were positive for COVID-19 showed no symptoms and did not require medical treatment.

"Those that were showing some symptoms were only minor in nature and did not require medical attention," the release said.

Jail officials credited the turnabout in coronavirus cases to a few things.

They said the Kootenai County Public Safety Building is currently and has been using procedures to continue to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

That includes wearing face coverings inside the facility, routine cleaning per Centers for Disease Control guidelines, and screening arrestees and inmate transfers prior to entry into the facility.

"The safety of the inmates and staff is our first priority and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office continues to take every step necessary to reduce the possibility of more COVID-19 exposures within the facility," the release said.

Meanwhile, Panhandle Health District reported 24 new cases Wednesday, bringing the total of PHD cases to 2,784 and 48 deaths, almost all over the age of 70. The number of closed PHD cases is 2,439. The number of active cases is 345, which is 0.14 percent of the PHD's population.

Kootenai County has 2,200 cases, with 235 of those active. Bonner County has 226, Shoshone County has 196, Benewah has 117, and Boundary has 44.

While the recent numbers of daily new cases are much lower than a month ago, health officials continue to urge people to wear masks when unable to maintain social distancing in public, wash hands and sanitize highly used areas at work and home.