Virus thins ranks at KCSO

COEUR d’ALENE — The spread of COVID-19 in the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is putting a strain on an already understaffed agency.

County officials postponed a meeting of the Optional Forms of Government study commission scheduled for Wednesday due to a high rate of illness among KCSO employees.

“We believe that postponing at this time is prudent to show our appreciation and support for our local healthcare partners,” Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said in a news release Tuesday.

Five KCSO employees were reportedly in quarantine Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19. Two of those employees are expected to return to work this week.

Employees who test positive for COVID-19 or who are exposed to someone who tests positive must quarantine for 10 days, Lt. Ryan Higgins said.

“We don’t want it to run rampant throughout the agency,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep it under wraps.”

To that end, Higgins said KCSO has reinstated cleaning procedures at the sheriff’s office that were first put in place during the early days of the pandemic.

Employees are asked to check their own temperatures before coming to work and are expected to disinfect their work stations daily.

However, KCSO employees are not required to wear masks.

“(Sheriff Norris) has said he isn’t going to be mandating any masks,” Higgins said.

Occupancy is limited in the lobbies of the sheriff’s office and jail.

The driver’s license offices at the Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene locations remain open by appointment only.

Higgins said KCSO remains understaffed — the dispatch center alone is short eight positions — so each employee who must quarantine makes a big difference.

“We can’t afford to have anyone get sick,” he said. “If somebody gets sick or exposes a team to COVID-19, we’re going to be in a world of hurt.”