Cd’A seek to slow spread of COVID-19

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer, Panhandle Health District and representatives from local bars and restaurants met Thursday morning to discuss additional measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The private meeting at City Hall drew interest from residents who’d heard rumors of Coeur d’Alene potentially closing businesses or rolling back to a previous version of Gov. Brad Little’s since-eclipsed stages of his re-opening plan. But Widmyer insisted before the meeting that he intends to keep businesses open.

“We are not closing businesses,” Widmyer said of the meeting. “(We’re) looking for a strategy to prevent spread.”

More than a dozen local businesses attended the meeting, which was called to draw attention to a growing number of younger adults who’ve been traced back to the local bar scene. As of July 1, 11 percent of Kootenai County’s positive cases were associated with bars or restaurants, compelling Panhandle Health director Lora Whalen to voice her concern to change behaviors to help slow the spread of the disease.

“We were pleased to see so many bar owners interested in discussing how they could keep their staff and patrons safe during COVID,” Whalen said. “… We anticipate that if behaviors don’t change — (meaning) social distancing, cloth face coverings and hand-washing — that we will continue to see these types of cases increase.”

Whalen added that, while younger adults have generally been more likely to withstand infection, the public health district was still concerned, not only with the well-being of younger residents but also their older relatives.

“The cases associated with our bars are a younger demographic who may be experiencing mild illness,” Whalen explained. “Our concern is that the younger generation will spread it to their loved ones who may be older and have underlying health conditions who may become more seriously ill and require hospitalization.”

While many attendees did not respond to comment for this story, Rico Ciccone — owner of Cricket’s on Sherman Avenue — said the meeting was productive and helpful.

“It was really just brainstorming on how to get through this pandemic period of time,” Ciccone said. “Panhandle (Health) shared their knowledge and the effectiveness of masks to slow the spread. They were there to spread awareness, really.”

Ciccone added that keeping sanitary protocols in place is the norm in the restaurant industry.

“Basically, in the restaurant business, we’re operating as clean as we can, no matter what,” said the restaurant owner for the past nine years. ”There’s really not much more you can do besides being aware. There wasn’t really a lot of information that’s new. All of this has been talked about the past four months since this began.”

The meeting came less than 48 hours before the start of Fourth of July weekend, historically the busiest foot traffic weekend of the summer. Despite unprecedented cancellations of downtown community events — from the Fourth of July parade and fireworks to Thursday’s announcement of a canceled street fair, Ciccone said Cricket’s has been busier than he anticipated.

“I feel like already, this summer’s been somewhat of a surprise of extra business,” he said. “I feel like it’s just human nature to want to get out. I feel like we’ve all been experiencing this honeymoon period where everyone’s been getting out and enjoying things. Society’s just tired of being cooped up.”

Afterward, Widmyer said the meeting was an opportunity to bring the public health district and local businesses together to help stem COVID-19’s tide.

“We had a good, productive meeting with local bar owners,” Widmyer said, “reiterating safety guidelines and protocols. We established an open line of communication with Panhandle Health to help them with any issues they may have.”

Ciccone agreed with the mayor’s assessment, adding that the meeting served as a necessary recalibration for the local restaurant and bar industry.

“We just went out and got a hundred more masks today after that meeting,” he said. “We all want to make sure we’re all on the same page down here.”