County reviews COVID-19 measures

The Sanders County Board of Health met Tuesday to discuss the current state of coronavirus in the county.

Nick Lawyer of Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH) and Bina Eggensperger, a CFVH board member, recently joined the county Board of Health. At Tuesday's meeting, Lawyer said CFVH was at maximum capacity recently as the number of active COVID-19 cases in the county was rising. He said that numbers across the case have plateaued and the hospital has been able to keep up with demand, but "as a result of the train, our ability to serve the community is stretched.

"The perception at the hospital is that the public is not taking this seriously enough," he stated.

County Public Health Nurse Karen Morey said that she has already been communicating with the state so that the county is ready when a COVID-19 vaccine is available for distribution.

While enforcement of the mask mandate has been difficult across the state, the county Board of Health on Tuesday stated that they would do more community outreach to encourage masks.

As COVID-19 drives local businesses to alter their operations and has caused several to close, churches are also adapting to changes. Thompson Falls Community Congregational Church plans to close their doors for two weekends in order to better facilitate social distancing and to protect their congregation.

Jason Trego, a member of the church, said that he used to be a physician and strongly supports the idea of the closure and of wearing masks.

“In my opinion, wearing a mask is a mark of patriotism,” Trego said of the community’s obligation to protect each other. According to him, Community Congregational Church members can still access services, music and more online through YouTube, where the church has been posting recorded services for months. The initiative was done to help high-risk members remain involved and worshipping with the church while staying at home. Anyone can view these videos by typing in “Thompson Falls Community Congregational Church” on YouTube.

The decision to reopen will depend on the situation in the community, and the case count. If the church re-opens, services will look a little different still. Sunday services will be split into two meetings in order to decrease the attendance numbers. This will aid in social distancing and will help to reduce the spread of the coronavirus through the congregation and the community, according to Trego. Masks will be required to all who enter the facility and if a person does not have a mask, one will be provided.