On Friday the Idaho State Legislature voted to recess until at least April 6, 2021 because at least ten state legislatures have tested positive for COVID-19. The state still has some unfinished business to complete including enacting a budget and giving massive tax cuts. Legislatures also are debating a bill that would ban local governments from requiring that people wear masks. That bill will have to wait until next month at the earliest.
Democratic state lawmakers criticized their Republican colleagues for not taking proper precautions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 so the legislature could continue with its work.”We could have met remotely or worn masks and distanced reliably but no, we go home now and stop doing the peoples business,” Democratic state Sen. David Nelson tweeted.
Idaho has seen a 25% increase in daily new Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The state reported more than 380 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, according to the Idaho Department of Health. Since the start of the pandemic, Idaho has reported more than 177,000 cases of Covid-19 and 1,941 deaths.
Earlier this month, about a hundred people gathered at the Idaho state Capitol for a “burn the mask” rally.
