Ruehle urges precautions amid COVID-19 surge

▶️ Listen to this article now.

SANDPOINT — Councilwoman Deb Ruehle urged residents take precautions amid a COVID-19 surge in North Idaho.

Ruehle’s comments follow Gov. Brad Little’s calling up the National Guard Tuesday to assist with the rise in COVID-19 cases in Idaho.

“Our state and our hospitals are overwhelmed. As of yesterday, or potentially the day before, of the 400 ICU beds across the state only four are left. And from what I understand, the worst part of our state is North Idaho,” Ruehle said

Using data from the Panhandle Health District website Ruehle showed that on Aug. 30, Bonner County broke its record of positive cases at 63. By Aug. 31, the community’s cases were up to 79.

“As of Sept. 1, the country has 95 in-patients and 32 in critical care,” Ruehle said. “When I looked at the numbers yesterday [Tuesday], I believe it was 97 and 34. When you're in critical care, and the total number of patients drops, my assumption is that those people probably passed away.”

Ruehle wants residents to be aware of the state of the county and to be safe. She personally encouraged the school boards to rethink their position on masking up in the schools.

She said she would not want students returning to athletic seasons and extracurricular activities only to have things be shut down, especially for seniors who might potentially miss out on something they’ve worked on for the past four years.

“Wearing a mask seems like a small price to pay to stay in school and realize that, although we may think we've gotten back to normal, it's quite evident that we are not back to normal and we are in a space where this is the worst it's ever been in this county,” Ruehle said.

Mayor Shelby Rognstad thanked Ruehle for her comments, adding he would encourage everyone to get vaccinated if they haven’t already.

“It’s the best protection we have,” said Rognstad.