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Last night, Idaho public health officials abruptly ended a meeting after the Boise mayor and police chief said that the intense protests outside the health department building, as well as outside the homes of some health officials, they threatened public safety.
The request from Boise Mayor Lauren McLean and the Boise Police Department came just minutes after a member of the health board, Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo, tearfully interrupted the online meeting to say she had to rush home from work to be with her son. The board was expected to vote on a four-county mask mandate in Idaho’s most populous region.
“My 12-year-old son is home alone right now and there are protesters banging on the door,” Lachiondo said.
Another board member, family physician Dr. Ted Epperly, said the protests “were not under control in my house either.” The protesters went to the homes of at least three board members, the Boise Police Department said.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Central District Health parking lot before and during the meeting.
However, other groups support the proposed mask rule. An organization called the “Committee Against the Pandemic” collected messages of support from 600 area residents and posted them on signs that were delivered to the health district building several hours before the meeting began.
The Associated Press reports that Central District Health Director Russ Duke interrupted Tuesday’s meeting to inform board members of the mayor’s request.
“I got a call from the mayor, and it appears that the police, and she is requesting that we stop the meeting at this time due to the intense level of protesters in the parking lot and concern for the safety of the police and staff, as well as the protesters who are in the homes of some of our board members right now, ”Duke said.
Later, the Boise Police Department released a statement on Twitter saying they were requesting the meeting be postponed “in the interest of public safety.”
Governor of Idaho Brad Little has repeatedly urged Idahoans to wear masks, but has refused to issue a statewide mask mandate, leaving that decision up to regional boards of health. He condemned the actions of the protesters in the houses of the members of the junta.
Governor’s state orders require physical distancing at meetings, limit public and private gatherings to 10 people (except at religious or political events), require patrons to be seated in bars and restaurants, and require masks at long-care facilities term.
Last week, regional hospital officials warned that they were so overwhelmed by the large numbers of coronavirus patients and health care personnel unable to work because they are ill that the state could be forced to implement “standards of crisis care. “for the next month. Crisis standards of care are designed to ensure that patients most likely to survive Covid-19 have access to potentially life-saving treatment when there is not enough for everyone.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports that at least 113,905 Idaho residents have been infected with the virus so far, including 2,012 new cases reported Tuesday. So far, at least 1,074 residents have died from Covid-19.
