STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
COVID GRAPHS BY PAUL RIES
Gimlets in the Garden has become the latest casualty of Sun Valley’s surge in COVID cases.
Sawtooth Botanical Garden officials decided to cancel the event which was to have been held Thursday, Oct. 8, in light of rising cases. Tickets will be refunded or purchasers may consider their ticket purchase a tax-deductible donation
“Although we were prepared to take every precaution available to us relative to COVID-19, we feel that with recent elevated concern regarding the virus both here locally as well as nationally, this is our safest course of action,” said Garden Director Jen Smith. “We are super sad to make this announcement as we had a really good time planned! We consulted with local medical professionals as well as our own daily monitoring of the pandemic and the decision was made to err on the side of caution and community safety.
Smith added that the garden will continue to sell raffle tickets for a Sun Valley Challenger skii pass through 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, with the winning ticket being drawn on Friday, Oct. 16. Tickets are available online at www.sbgarden.org or via 208-726-9358.
BLAINE COUNTY REACHES A MILESTONE
Blaine County added its 700th official case of COVID on Monday. It has added nine new cases since Friday.
The state added 1,194 cases over a three-day period beginning Saturday. It now has 44,422 total cases.
Thirteen more Idahoans died over the weekend for a total of 487 deaths.
WHITE HOUSE RECOMMENDS FINES FOR IDAHOANS
The White House recently issued a memo encouraging fines for Idahoans who don’t wear face masks.
The Coronavirus Task Force has recommended statewide masks mandates in states like Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma and encouraged fines in Idaho, Alaska and Montana, according to The Idaho Statesman.
The memo was issued to governors on Sept. 20 and is rather curious considering masks are still optional at the White House, even after President Trump contracted the virus.
Masks are considered one of the easiest and best ways to protect people against spreading the virus. But 16 states have yet to enact mask mandates, even though three of four Americans support such state laws, according to an NPR/Ipsos poll. Some countries in Europe have begun reintroducing stricter measures, including requiring people to stay at home except to go to work or classes, as the fall flu season looms.
NO MASK? NO FOOTBALL
A 4A high school football game between the Emmett Huskies and Caldwell Cougars was cancelled at halftime Friday night after Ammon Bundy refused to wear a mask to watch his son play. The principal and athletic director repeated asked Bundy to put on a mask or leave. When he did neither, the principal asked officers to arrest him, but officers refused saying he didn’t appear to be a threat to anyone.
Bundy, who led a takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016, was arrested twice during the Idaho Legislature’s Special Session in August for refusing to comply with the orders of government officials and law enforcement.
NO MORE SNOW DAYS?
New York City has announced that its school system will not allow snow days this year—students will be required to learn from home.
The New York Times reports that schools that lost instructional time during the pandemic are desperate not to lose anymore. With virtual learning becoming more familiar, they feel they don’t need to.
Other school districts are trying to leave room for both virtual days and snow days. Schools in Shakopee, Minn., for instance, will set aside one day a year for a scheduled snow day, saying snow days are a birthright, a chance to let kids be kids.
BLACK FRIDAY MOVES TO OCTOBER
Black Friday has been pushed to October, thanks to the coronavirus. Stores like Best Buy, Macy’s and Target are launching holiday savings earlier to prevent crowded stores during the pandemic. And others plan to follow suit, according to the Associated Press.
One bright spot for retailers is that people are spending less on travel and eating out, which has siphoned away holiday sales in the past. So, provided these people still have a job, it’s thought they may spend more on Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers.
EMPTY CHAIRS OFFER SOMBER REMINDER
Twenty thousand empty folding chairs were set up on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Sunday—each chair representing 10 Americans who have died from the coronavirus pandemic. The visual representation was part of COVID Remembrance Day as 210,000 Americans have lost their lives.
COUNTRY BEATS BACK CORONAVIRUS
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has declared that her country has again beat the virus. She said restrictions in Auckland would be eased following a three-week lockdown after no new cases were confirmed over a 12-day period.
The Kiwis have lost just 25 countrymen to COVID in a country of 5 million. And they celebrate their release from lockdown with a full stadium for the Bledisloe Cup Test rugby match, according to Agence France-Presse.
SUPER SPREADER IN WASHINGTON
The story of an outbreak at Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie, Wash., illustrates the need for businesses and health departments to step up to the plate immediately following the report of a positive test that could infect dozens if not hundreds of people.
Managers of the lodge and spa learned of a COVID-19 outbreak on Sept. 23. But on Sept. 26 they told guests via social media to come get their mascarpone buttermilk pancakes, according to the Seattle Times.
The public health department did not announce the outbreak until a week later—on Sept. 30, during which time the lodge’s 1,000-plus guests who had been exposed continued to mingle in their respective communities. At least 23 employees and two guests have tested positive so far.
MIS-C IN ADULTS?
Researchers now say that adults can suffer with symptoms that resemble multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, in children. The new-called MIS-A. which disproportionately hits racial and ethnic minorities, can include extreme inflammation throughout the body, malfunction of such organs as the heart, liver and kidneys, gastrointestinal symptoms, rashes and heart dysfunction, according to researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WORKING TOWARDS WINTER DINING
Café Du Soleil in Manhattan has erected plastic bubbles outside to keep diners warm as temperatures get colder. And sales of propane heaters and patio fire pits are soaring as Americans seek ways to stay outdoors to stay safe, according to the New York times.
Restaurants also are upgrading air-filtration systems and installing partitions to trap virus particles since viruses typically accumulate inside.