The Office of the Governor

Proclamation

Executive Department, State of Idaho
State Capitol, Boise

WHEREAS, the health and safety of all Idahoans is the greatest priority of our state and its leaders; and 

WHEREAS, the State of Idaho has been studying and preparing for the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) since it first appeared in the United States in January 2020; 

WHEREAS, the State of Idaho is committed to responding rapidly and effectively to the spread of COVID-19 to protect the health and safety of its citizens; and 

WHEREAS, I established a Coronavirus Working Group to aid in the many public health aspects of the incident, and that Working Group has been working diligently and communicating daily to provide me and the State of Idaho with the best available science, data, methods, and advice on responding to COVID-19; and 

WHEREAS, the State of Idaho has and continues to prepare for and respond to the presence of COVID-19 in Idaho, including increasing the capacity of the health care system, securing medical supplies and personal protective equipment, ensuring supply lines of food and non-medical supplies will remain open and reliable, providing extensive information to the citizens of Idaho on the prevention and spread of COVID-19, being one of the first states to have a lab for testing and increasing the capacity of testing at the lab by many times in a matter of weeks, and securing millions of dollars in funds to support the emergency response; and 

WHEREAS, the worldwide detection of COVID-19, including in the United States, has progressed to a pandemic declared by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020; and 

WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, when the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Idaho, I issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in the State of Idaho due to the occurrence and imminent threat to public health and safety arising from the effects of COVID- 19; and

WHEREAS, President Trump issued a proclamation on March 13, 2020 declaring a national emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States and in order to implement additional measures to successfully contain and combat the virus in the United States; and 

WHEREAS, each of those proclamations remain in effect today; and 

WHEREAS, on March 20, 2020, immediately upon the confirmation of community spread in Blaine County, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare put in place an isolation order requiring all residents in Blaine County to remain at home except to obtain or provide essential services; and 

WHEREAS, there is risk to life and the continued operation of public infrastructure as a result of the potential for cases of COVID-19 throughout the State of Idaho; and 

WHEREAS, cases of COVID-19 have continued to increase in Idaho, necessitating additional measures to ensure to contain and combat the virus; and 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Brad Little, Governor of the State of Idaho, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Idaho, and the laws of this State, including Sections 46-601 and 46-1008, Idaho Code, do hereby find and therefore proclaim and declare: 

1. The proclamation I issued on March 13, 2020 is hereby amended to incorporate this proclamation. 
2. There exists a condition of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the State of Idaho caused by the increasing presence of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID- 19), which, by reason of its magnitude, is beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any city or county. Accordingly, I find that there exists an extreme emergency within the State of Idaho. 
3. This proclamation shall be disseminated promptly by means calculated to bring its contents to the attention of the general public and be promptly filed with the Idaho office of emergency management, the office of the secretary of state and the office of the recorder of each county. 
4. This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the State of Idaho, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.