PHD reports 12 COVID-related deaths

The Panhandle Health District reported 12 more coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, including the first of a person under the age of 50.

PHD’s total number of deaths attributed to the virus is 236, of which 27 are in Bonner County. Of those, 207 were people age 70 and over, 23 were in the 60-69 age group, five in the 50-50 age group and one in the 30-39 age group, which is the youngest COVID-related death in the district.

The district’s total number of coronavirus cases is 20,381, with 162 new cases on Wednesday.

Bonner County had 32 new cases on Wednesday, bringing its total to 2,618, with 27 COVID-related deaths. Kootenai County had 124 new cases on Wednesday, bringing its total to 15,563, with 163 COVID-related deaths.

Kootenai Health had 38 coronavirus patients on Wednesday, the fewest since Oct. 23, when it had 36. On Dec. 23 it had 91 COVID patients.

“Having a drop in hospitalizations is a relief although it’s important to remember that Kootenai Health treats all types of patients and our critical care department is still hovering at or near capacity despite having a lower COVID-19 census,” according to a statement from Kootenai Health.

 “We are not loosening safety protocols or letting our guard down, rather we are using this time to reschedule cancelled or postponed procedures and are hopeful COVID-19 hospitalizations will stabilize or continue to drop. To help ensure this, we are continuing to ask the community to do their part in slowing the spread of COVID-19,” the statement said.

 “We are aware that the COVID-19 variants we’ve heard about are now circulating in the U.S. and expect to see them in our region in the future. Many of our physicians are concerned and want to remind community members to continue taking safety precautions seriously.”