Virus cases expected to subside when students leave for summer
May 10—Most of the recent cases of COVID-19 in the region have been on the Palouse — and those numbers will likely decline when students at Washington State University and University of Idaho go home for the summer.
Latah County, which tallied 29 new cases from April 30-May 6, added nine more Monday.
Whitman County's numbers haven't been updated since Feb. 28 because of data problems at the state level, but the county has "seen a bit of an uptick in cases over the last couple weeks," said Chris Skidmore, director of Whitman County Public Health, in an email to the Daily News.
"We have had several outbreaks in congregate settings that have accounted for approximately 70% of our current cases," Skidmore said. "Those outbreaks are now receding and I am hopeful that we will see a downward trend in cases over the next several weeks. WSU's spring semester just ended so with that population leaving, we should see less cases and hopefully a quiet summer on the COVID front."
Virus activity on the Palouse remains relatively low compared to other times during the pandemic.
