BLACKFOOT – A resident of a Blackfoot assisted living facility died as a result of symptoms of the new coronavirus.
The man, in his 80s, was a resident of the Willows Retirement and Assisted Living Center, where at least one staff member also tested positive for COVID-19. Southeastern Idaho Public Health reports that the man also had underlying health problems that were a contributing factor in death.
Older people or people with weaker immune systems are more susceptible to the virus. In Idaho, almost all of the 93 COVID-19 deaths have been among people over the age of 60.
The man, who has not been identified, is the third death to occur in eastern Idaho. Last month, a man in his 60s died in Bannock County, and an 80-year-old woman died in Bonneville County.
RELATED | The Pocatello man who died of COVID-19 complications was remembered as a family man who would help anyone
Eastern Idaho has seen 332 confirmed and 101 probable cases of COVID-19 since mid-March. However, most of these people have recovered from the virus. As of Thursday night, just eastern Idaho Public Health or SIPH is actively monitoring 126 people.
A case is considered probable if a person has not been examined; o A test is pending, and the person has all the symptoms of COVID-19, has come into direct contact with an infected person, and has developed symptoms within the expected time.
COVID-19 has an extremely high recovery rate, and the vast majority of people who contract the virus will recover safely at home. So far, only 350 patients with COVID-19 have had to be hospitalized across the state. Some of those cases were very serious and involved hospital stays of more than 50 days, according to officials at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center and Idaho Falls Community Hospital.
SIPH officials say Willows staff is working with the district on testing and orientation at the facilities.
“My heart goes out to grieving family, friends and neighbors,” said Maggie Mann, SIPH District Director. “Our entire community deeply feels this loss. Now more than ever, each of us must do our part to prevent the spread of this virus. We all must do what we can to keep each other safe. ”
SIPH urges all residents to take precautions to delay the spread of COVID-19. This includes practicing physical distancing at all times, wearing cloth face shields in public places, practicing good hand hygiene, and immediately isolating if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
SIPH has a call center to answer community questions and is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm. You can contact the hotline at (208) 234-5875.
For Idaho-specific information about the new coronavirus, visit https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/.
