Thread by @mlcarmel

Good morning Boise!

@boisemayor is getting ready to receive a briefing from leaders in the medical field on COVID-19 in the city at 9 a.m.

You can watch here:

We've got 240ish people waiting to watch the stream and they haven't started yet.

We're up! McLean is here with several heads of hospital systems to hear about COVID-19.

"I want the community to hear the information us decision-makers are hearing so they know how important it is we take action together"

Dr. Jim Souza with St. Luke's is starting first.

He said the population of COVID-19 patients has been rapidly growing to the point where the hospital might not be able to keep up in the future.

"People expect our services will be here just in case. Just in case your Dad falls and breaks his hip. Just in case your Mom has a stroke. Just in case your spouse gets COVID and happens to be in the unlucky minority that gets really sick."

Two-thirds of staff absences at St. Luke's are because of COVID-19.

It was one third only a few weeks ago.

"What I keep reminding people is the hospitals are a lagging measure. If everyone is interested in what's happening in the hospital, we've lost the train. Just looking at if hospitals are full is the end of the trail" -St. Al's President Odette Bolano

"(Healthcare workers) are here to serve this community and when the community doesn’t respect the need to keep our people safe so they can do their job, it’s a little bit disheartening I have to tell you." - Bolano

Dr. Steven Nemerson with Saint Al's is speaking now.

He said they're seeing testing positivity rates over 20%, which are record numbers we haven't seen before.

Nemerson said Saint Al's is also limiting non-urgent surgeries, which include spine surgeries, joint replacements and other procedures that are "painful and disabling" to patients while they wait.

Nemerson suggested canceling events is easier than trying to fight with others about masks.

"It’s easier to not have an event than to invite people in and have to deal with the few of those people who won’t listen to or follow the mandates."

Souza said St. Luke's model for patients, which has been correct the entire pandemic, predicts we will have an increase of 30% in patients by the first week of December.

Primary Health clinics were getting 1,800 calls a day a few weeks ago. Now they're over 3,000.

"If we can't take care of your children who have ear aches and your grandparent with a minor illness, we're in trouble. Our job with primary care is to keep you out of the hospital and if we have to default to sending you to the emergency room that's not going to work" - Peterman

Peterman acknowledged the negative hits McLean got for implementing restrictions and a mask order relatively early on in the pandemic. He said it was "the right thing to do."

He is asking for more enforcement of the restrictions we have in place.

McLean did not announce any new action on the call, but she said a plan for new changes is in the works and should be announced soon.

"One city can't have the impact our region and state deserves, but there are things we can do."

"Our goal is rather than shutting everything down, using an axe if you will, we want to use a scalpel and look at how we can come up with a framework in partnership with businesses taht allows us to support those that are doing well..." - McLean

And that's a wrap!

I'll be watching for what these new restrictions are and what the city plans to do.