Idaho health board rejects regional mask, distancing order
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A proposed public health order that would have included a mask mandate for Idaho's most populated region was voted down on Tuesday as hundreds of protesters again gathered outside the Central District Health building in Boise.
A previous attempt to vote on the order — which would have mandated masks in public and required businesses to practice social distancing or face a misdemeanor — was abruptly halted last week at the request of Boise officials and police amid fears that protests were becoming too “intense.” One board member had to rush out after rowdy protesters at her residence loudly played a gunfire-ridden clip from the movie “Scarface” while her child was alone inside.
About 200 people gathered to protest at Central District Health on Tuesday, and Boise Police “were not involved in any events of significance,” department spokeswoman Haley Williams wrote in an email to The Associated Press. The protests appeared largely peaceful, and police didn't receive any reports of protesters gathering outside of board members' homes.
During the meeting three board members from Elmore, Valley and Boise counties — the more rural counties in the region — all voted against the mask mandate, saying they'd heard from constituents who were deeply opposed to the rule. But three board members from Ada County — the most populated county in the state — were in favor of the mandate, noting that Boise-area hospitals are reaching capacity because of an influx of COVID-19 patients, including many from neighboring counties.
Before the vote, Central District Health Director Russ Duke told board members that the vast majority of public comment came from people in favor of the public health order, and many of those who opposed the order erroneously believed it would have forced businesses and...
