Board of Health approves face covering order for Valley County; limits Ada County social gathering size to no more than 10 people

At their regular weekly meeting held on Tuesday, August 11, Central District Health’s (CDH) Board of Health voted to pass a new order mandating the wearing of face coverings in public places for all of Valley County. Under the new order, “Every person is required to wear a face covering that completely covers the person’s nose and mouth when the person is in a public place or on the property of a public or private, or charter school, or technical school, or college or university, and others are present and physical distancing of six feet cannot be maintained.”

This order came at the request and unanimous support of the Valley County Commissioners and is in effect immediately.

While the language mirrors that of the Ada County order for face coverings, the Valley County Order is separate and only includes language for face coverings. The signed Valley County face covering order, along with Frequently Asked Questions, can be found on the CDH website at https://www.cdh.idaho.gov/dac-coronavirus-valleyorder

Social Group Sizes Limited for Ada County

In a five-to-one vote, the Board of Health approved draft language for addition to the Ada County order that prohibits social gatherings greater than 10 people. While Ada County has seen some leveling off of case counts and impact on its health care systems in recent weeks, daily reports of 100 or more cases are still regularly occurring, and on at least two recent days, numbers have climbed by 200 cases. Additionally, case investigations have determined that

gatherings such as birthday parties, weddings, backyard barbecues, and similar social gatherings have been, and continue to be, a common source of transmission in Ada County.

The added language defines social gatherings as “Private gatherings of people for the common purpose of relaxation or social interaction convening more than ten people in a single indoor room or outdoor space at the same time, where physical distancing of six feet is not maintained.

Social gatherings do not include persons patronizing theaters, restaurants, retail establishments, or similar private businesses where social distancing is practiced, or attending places of worship for the purpose of exercising religious activities.”

The idea to limit gathering sizes came from a recent White House report for Idaho that put the state in the ‘red zone’ based several factors and data points, made specific recommendations to limit social gathering sizes to 10 or fewer people, among other strategies. The updated order goes into effect immediately and can be found at https://www.cdh.idaho.gov/dac-coronavirusorder.php.

Next Board Meeting Scheduled for Friday, August 21 at 8:30 am

The next Board of Health meeting will be held virtually on Friday, August 21 at 8:30 a.m. This is a regularly scheduled Board meeting that will include discussion of COVID-19 as well as additional agenda items.

The meeting will be streamed via YouTube. Once meetings are complete, videos are retained on the CDH YouTube page. Written comments can be submitted to the Board up to 24-hours in advance of their meetings by email at boh@cdh.idaho.gov or mailed to CDH, Attn: Russ Duke/BOH, 707 N. Armstrong Pl., Boise, ID 83704.

All agendas and Board of Health documents are posted to the Board meetings web page at: https://www.cdh.idaho.gov/about-boardofhealth-meetings.php.