Thursday, March 13 marks the five year anniversary of President Donald Trump declaring the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency. On Friday, March 13, 2020, Idaho also announced its first detected case of the virus in the state.
A few days before the first case was reported in Idaho, the state’s Department of Health and Welfare recommended cancelling gatherings of more than 250 people. After much debate, the Treefort Music Festival was postponed and the Sun Valley Film Festival was canceled. On March 13, things took a turn.
By the end of the day, Idaho’s first case had been reported.
At a press conference, Gov. Brad Little said the situation was changing rapidly.
“The science and the epidemiology is an evolving issue,” he said, taking questions from reporters asking about early detection and testing. “But with what we know, we think we're doing the best practices.”
Two weeks later, officials confirmed three deaths related to the virus and the governor issued a state-wide stay-at-home order, hoping Idahoans would practice caution.
“Peer pressure from the communities is always our first preference,” he said at a press conference. “We will look at each instance case by case.”
December 2020 and October 2021 saw the highest spikes in deaths. At its worst, about 180 people were dying every week in the state. Ada, Canyon and Kootenai counties were hit the hardest. The CDC reports by 2023, roughly 5400 Idahoans had died from COVID.
Idaho's Department of Health and Welfare COVID-19 data tracker shows zero COVID deaths so far this year, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports weekly deaths in Idaho are still in the single digits. Health and Welfare officials declined a request for an interview to discuss the data.
