Lawmakers seek end of mask order
Several North Idaho legislators are requesting that the Panhandle Health District’s board of health lift Kootenai County’s mask mandate.
“We, the majority of state legislators from the five northern counties, are concerned about the continuing mask mandate in Kootenai County,” the letter dated Sept. 29 reads. “This order, first passed by your board in July, carries the force of law and is highly upsetting to many of the citizens we represent.”
Some of those citizens have aired their frustrations with protests in front of PHD’s Hayden offices since the health board approved the July 23 mandate to wear masks when in public and unable to remain six feet from others. Last week’s 4-2 decision by the health board to continue the mask mandate was another catalyst that led lawmakers to pen the letter.
“Last week your board extended this demand for only Kootenai County,” the letter continues, “though the other four counties in the Panhandle Health District are all at the same risk level, according to your tracking data today, and hospitals are not overwhelmed.”
Kootenai County remains in the “yellow” category, according to Panhandle numbers, the same category that Benewah, Shoshone, Bonner and Boundary County enjoy. “Yellow” represents a second-most relaxed category, indicating a minimal risk that signifies between one to 15 new COVID cases per 100,000 residents over a rolling seven-day period, a testing positivity rate between 5 and 8%, and hospital bed occupancy between 75 and 90%, along with staffing and resource shortages.
In the letter, legislators are calling for the PHD board to meet next week and change the mask mandate to a mask recommendation.
"We believe it is better to educate, not mandate," it reads.
"It is our belief that government mandates related to COVID are not only counterproductive but are an infringement on individual rights protected by the Idaho and US Constitutions," the letter reads. "Idahoans value their freedom to make decisions for themselves. Treating adults like children results in defiance of the orders and diminishes the credibility of the health board in current and future concerns."
The letter was signed by Sen. Mary Souza (R-Coeur d’Alene), Sen. Steve Vick (R-Dalton Gardens), Sen. Don Cheatham (R-Post Falls), Rep. Ron Mendive (R-Coeur d’Alene), Rep. Tim Remington (R-Coeur d’Alene), Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), Rep. Vito Barbieri (R-Dalton Gardens), and Rep. Jim Addis (R-Coeur d’Alene), as well as Sen. Carl Crabtree (R-Grangeville), Rep. Sage Dixon (R-Ponderay) and Rep. Paul Shepherd (R-Riggins).
Addis said he signed the letter because local law officials say the size and scope of the mandate is impossible to enforce.
“My only concern is that, it’s a mandate that really isn’t enforceable,” Addis said. “Law enforcement said they didn’t have time to do it. As far as policy is concerned, if you’re going to have a mandate or edict or statute that you know is unenforceable or is enforced selectively, you know it’s a bad law.”
Souza said the Sept. 24 arrest of three churchgoers in Moscow for intentionally violating a similar mask order was enough to compel her to sign the letter, adding that the uneven application of the mask mandate in only Kootenai County seems unjust.
“The skirmish down in Moscow that brought it to the forefront that this mandate has the force of law," she said. "People could be held accountable under those circumstances."
She said Kootenai County and the four other counties under Panhandle Health’s purview are all at the same risk level.
"So it seems inappropriate that Kootenai would be under the mandate when the other counties are not," Souza said. "We think it’s time to take the mandate off so people are not concerned that the consequence of law goes along with this mandate.”
Vick said he was concerned about the absence of elected Kootenai County representation on the board — while the county is represented by two members in the medical profession, Kootenai is the only county without an elected commissioner — and that the area’s state representatives needed to speak up.
“I have had concerns about the fact people who are not elected or elected in different counties are deciding how people in our county behaves,” Vick said. “That’s bothered me for quite some time now … I would think they would listen to the elected officials here, and that our voice would be heard.”
Addis agreed.
“For something this big it needs to come from someone who stands in front of the voters," he said.
Shoshone County Commissioner Mike Fitzgerald said Wednesday he was in receipt of the letter, and that while he is looking forward to giving the matter a closer look, the COVID numbers he saw at the Sept. 24 meeting looked promising.
“When we took a look at (local COVID-19 data), they were kinda holding steady,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve seen an improvement. But it’s hard to predict where they’re going to land, because there’s this two-week (incubation) delay. When we have a big event, or if the weather changes, or if people start going inside more, those can move those numbers up. But it’s worth a closer look.”
In a statement, Kootenai Health said it was standing by Panhandle’s decision to continue the mask mandate, saying the wearing of masks was one of the simplest and most user-friendly ways to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“In the state of Idaho, our regional health districts have been given both the responsibility and the authority to make decisions on matters affecting public health,” the statement reads. “Their decision to mandate wearing masks is an appropriate and responsible action for protecting the public. It is an action that has been repeatedly and consistently shown to be a low-cost, effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when, and only when, everyone participates.”
The statement further reads that, with schools back in session and the return of flu season, the risk of community spread remains a priority.
“As we see more in-person contact with students’ return to school and flu season approaching, the Kootenai Health board, medical staff and administrative team support Panhandle Health District’s decision to continue the masking mandate as an appropriate strategy to help ensure schools and businesses can stay open and our hospital has the capacity to meet our community’s needs," the statement reads.
Addis said his constituents understand the risks, but that they must be left to decide for themselves.
“I think education is the best way to go,” he said. “I wear a mask. That’s my choice. I don’t go downtown because that’s my choice. I don’t go to large gatherings, because that’s my choice.”
Souza concurred, saying the precautions taken early on in the pandemic made more sense, considering that little was known about the virus. Now, however, she contends that a more informed population can make those decisions for themselves.
“I think people who believe masks are helpful will continue to wear them,” she posited. “I think people who believe masks don’t help will continue to not wear them. I personally wear a mask when I’m in an institution that requires it, but I think it’s an individual choice. The situation we have here is: Where is the line between government telling people what they have to do for their health and people making their own choice?”
Vick, Souza and Addis all applauded Panhandle Health’s education push, saying that the board needs to continue that path after the mandate is lifted, whenever that may be.
“I think, in a situation like this,” Vick said, “a good job for the health district is to educate people and let the people make the choice. I don’t discourage anyone or frown on anyone to wear a mask, but a mandate isn’t appropriate, either.”
