Boise Mayor Issues Statement On Rising COVID Rates

BOISE, ID — After conducting a COVID-19 briefing involving numerous medical professionals, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issued the following statement:

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"Over this past week we’ve seen the news about the drastic rise in COVID-19 cases in our community. The upward trend is alarming – and the Delta variant is a real threat to the health of our community. As Boiseans, we must do what we can to protect ourselves, our families, our neighbors and our entire community. We must take the steps that are proven to help combat this surging pandemic. If we can, we must get vaccinated. When indoors, we must mask up and we must continue to keep physical distance between ourselves and those outside of our immediate household.

I recently spoke to trusted healthcare professionals who put out a plea to take these steps to not only help protect the health of our community, but also to preserve the healthcare capacity that is needed to address other serious needs. I invite you to watch this COVID-19 briefing and hear directly from David Peterman, M.D., Primary Health; Jim Souza, M.D., St. Luke’s; and Patrice Burgess, M.D., Saint Alphonsus. Our healthcare providers have been working tirelessly for over 18 months – and they need us to step up and do what is right for the health of our neighbors, our families and our community. If we take action now, we can make a real difference.

We all know what we need to do:

• Get vaccinated
• Wear a mask indoors
• Keep physical distance

If we do these things, we can live a life we all enjoy.

Additionally, I invite you all to think about the community heroes who have made a difference in large and small ways over the course of this pandemic. From medical professionals working hard to keep our community heathy, to essential workers showing up each day to get the job done, to neighbors helping neighbors. We want to hear these stories, and have an opportunity to thank these heroes for their efforts. Please consider nominating a community hero for recognition. More nomination information can be found on the city website.

The course of this pandemic is much like navigating a river. We must all row our raft together, in synch, to get through the upcoming rapids. Conditions may change, and when that occurs we must adjust course together to successfully navigate the rapids. Side by side with our healthcare community, I am asking that each of us does our part. Together, we can make it through this surge and navigate to smoother waters ahead."

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