Mandatory mask order and gathering restrictions lifted in Teton County; more COVID-19 deaths in eastern Idaho

IDAHO FALLS — The mandatory mask order and gathering restrictions in Teton County are now lifted as of Thursday.

Teton County was the first local county to initiate the mask order as part of the Eastern Idaho Public Health’s COVID-19 Regional Response Plan. The plan mandated masks and gathering restrictions once Teton County moved from the minimal risk category to the moderate risk category on July 16. The threshold to move from minimal to moderate was 12 active COVID-19 cases (10 per 10,000 people in a county) over a three day period.

Teton has now been below that threshold for seven days prompting the downgrade. Currently, there are only five active cases in the county.

Although the order has been lifted, EIPH officials still recommend people continue to wear face coverings while in public when not able to physically distance. There are also still local ordinances in place by the cities of Driggs and Victor.

Bonneville, Custer, and Jefferson counties are all still at the moderate risk level on the response plan. But Jefferson County is on a downward trend. If Jefferson County continues its downward trend in active cases and it falls below the metric for the seventh consecutive day, its order will be on lifted Saturday.

Read about the orders at EIPH.

New COVID-19 deaths in eastern Idaho

EIPH also released some bad news on Thursday. Two more people have died as a result of a COVID-19 infection — a man in his 90s in Fremont County and a woman in her 70s in Bonneville County. Due to privacy laws, no other information is being released about the individuals.

The latest numbers bring the total death count locally to 30, split between EIPH and Southeastern Idaho Public Health. Most of the deaths are in Bonneville (13) and Bingham (8) counties. There have also been deaths in Fremont, Jefferson and Bannock counties. With the exception of one death, a person in her 30s, all the deaths have been individuals over the age of 60.

Additionally, there have been 4,467 recoveries in eastern Idaho, and are currently 705 active cases in the region.

Statewide there have been 407 deaths, 17,599 recoveries, and there are currently 16,611 active cases in Idaho.

For more information on COVID-19 numbers, including hospitalizations, visit the EastIdahoNews.com COVID-19 page.

Although we have been seeing a downward trend in COVID-19 cases throughout the region over the past several weeks, health district officials still need to remain vigilant in our efforts to slow the spread of the virus especially now that schools have resumed and we are heading into influenza season.

One of our goals is to keep schools open and closely following public health guidelines is one of the ways to avoid outbreaks and ensure kids can remain learning and growing in their intellectual and extracurricular pursuits. This includes:

• Staying home if you are sick and not sending your child to school if sick or experiencing
  symptoms of COVID-19.
• Maintaining a space of six feet between yourself and people not of your household.
• Wearing face coverings, if medically possible, in public spaces when not able to physical
  distance.
• Washing your hands frequently or using sanitizer if not able to wash.
• Avoiding hosting and attending large gatherings of people.

COVID-19 information can be found on our website at www.EIPH.Idaho.gov and also on our data dashboard.

Also, EIPH has a call center to answer questions regarding COVID-19. Call (208) 522-0310 or (855) 533-3160 (toll-free) to speak with someone. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition, questions can be submitted via email to COVIDQuestions@eiph.idaho.gov or asked through our Facebook page at @EIPH.Idaho.